The Olympic Games have always had more than a touch of romance and magic about them. Every country would send their best athletes and the world would find out who, exactly, was the runner, jumper, swimmer or team. The individual sports may come and go but the spirit remains and the idea of using sports to promote international relations has a lot of merit. If one takes into account the quadrennial stories we all hear about the number of condoms used in the Olympic Village, one can safely assume that quite a lot of international relations is going on.

The Olympics is a draw. The golden prize on top of the hill. With rugby’s reemergence in the Games as 7s some of the greatest stars of the “proper” 15s game are being drawn to the shorter code like moths to a candle. Next weekend the World Sevens Series is making its annual stop in Las Vegas and Sonny Bill Williams, Quade Cooper and Brian Habana will be turning out for New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, respectively. While this star power may bring more attention to the 7s game the question remains if these players will make a difference? As my old coach Gary Townsend used to say, 7s and 15s are two entirely different games played by the same rules. This is gonna be fun.

The Best Rugby In The Land – Schoolboy Edition

There are many benefits to living in Northern California and being a member of the Pelican Society but one of the best is the quality of rugby that we get here. Last weekend Cal (26 national championships) hosted Air Force (3 national championships) while just a few miles away in Moraga #3 St Mary’s hosted #1 BYU. The St Mary’s v BYU match was, in particular, a match for the ages. The best description I heard was that if you wanted to show someone great rugby and get them interested in the game, show them a film of this match.

Ask A Pelican

Yes, it’s time for this week’s installment of “Ask A Pelican”, the widely loved Q and A session with Hail Pelicus. This week’s question comes from Hunter S Thompson of Louisville, KY who asks:

“I’m heading to Las Vegas on an epic journey of self discovery enhanced by copious amounts of drug use this weekend but I don’t want to fall behind on my Northern California rugby news. Will there be a Hail Pelicus next week?”

Thank you for your question, Mr S Thompson, although I must say it is quite odd to receive a question from someone who has been dead for over 10 years. My compliments to your necromancer for the quality of the connection. The short answer is No. The long answer is No, because the entire HP staff will be in Vegas next weekend and can’t be bothered. We literally can’t even.

The final ten minutes of the marquee match of the weekend nearly culminated in an epic comeback as the Varsity Cup Champion, #1 Brigham Young University, edged the defending DIA National Champion, #3 St. Mary’s College of California, 30-29, on Saturday in Moraga, Calif. Down by 15 points with ten minutes remaining, a BYU yellow card gave St. Mary’s the opening it needed. Requiring three scores to either tie or take the lead, the Gaels showed immense heart to put in two converted tries in the time remaining, but came up one point short at the whistle.

Both teams traded blows and struggled to sustain drives without turning the ball over or being penalized. BYU was a big, physical, organized presence on the field, but showed that they are green with not many games under its belt. On the other hand, St. Mary’s found opportunities hard to come by fighting against the Cougars’ stout defense. The Gaels’ resiliency and ability to play hard for 80 minutes kept them in the game.

The first scoring chance came for BYU after an offsides penalty. Inside center Calvin Whiting went for points, but the 38 meter kick was wide. When St. Mary’s’ Dylan Audsley had a similar kick soon after, the outside center nailed it to take 3-0 lead in the 10th minute.

BYU responded when Whiting stopped Audsley in his tracks forcing a turnover at the 22. After phase ball, flyhalf Jared Whippy sent a beautiful chip to the corner where wing Kevin Schofield beat the opposing wing for the try. Whippy missed the conversion, but the Cougars took the 5-3 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, BYU marched 60 meters to get into scoring position. Eightman Joe Pikula finished off the scoring drive running around the open weak side of the ruck to score in the corner. The Gaels’ answered with a try by wing Tommy Wallace after prop Dino Waldren broke the line for a long gain. The conversion missed, but the lead was cut to 10-8, BYU.

After a Whippy penalty extended the tally to 13-8, the Cougars took further advantage when outside center Josh Whippy intercepted a Holden Yungert pass for a try. The subsequent conversion was good and BYU went into halftime up 20-8. Unfortunately for St. Mary’s, Waldren was injured late in the half and didn’t return to play.

BYU picked up where they left off in the first half by scoring in the first two minutes of the period. After a 40 meter break by Whippy, lock Matt Jensen found the tryzone and the 27-8 lead. On the next series, BYU’s Josh Whippy was binned for a dangerous tackle and the consequent Gaels’ PK attempt was wide. Down a man, the Cougar defense rallied and killed the penalty without allowing a try.

When the teams were at full strength, St. Mary’s found cracks in the defensive front and stormed into the 22. After a stolen scrum and multiple attempts at the tryline, a swift tap pass from Mike McCarthy to Audsley resulted in a try. BYU came back with another Whiting penalty kick to size up an epic last ten minutes with the Cougars leading 30-15.

St. Mary’s was knocking at the door again inside the 22 where BYU’s Pikula was yellow carded for repeated infringement. The Gaels attacked with the man advantage and flyhalf Aaron Matthews evaded his defender from ten meters out for the try at the 74th minute.

With precious minutes remaining, St. Mary’s opportunities were slipping as a fullback Charlie Loudon break and support by Wallace ended with a turnover. The Gaels were not finished and on the final play, Matthews found the tryzone once more off a quick tap. Audsley made the kick, but the referee blew the final whistle and BYU held on for the 30-29 win.

The two teams will meet again in three weeks on March 12th in Provo, Utah. In the meantime both teams will face high quality opponents as St. Mary’s will take on Cal and Utah, while BYU welcomes Air Force and Central Washington to South Field in the coming weeks.

Date: 02/20/2016

Aptos 39 – Modesto 56

Referee: Bernstein, Bruce

Nice competitive match. Aptos hosted Modesto on Silicon Valley’s home field in San Jose making it an easier trip for everyone except Aptos who were lucky to have 15 with their coach filling in admirably at flyhalf. Modesto outscored Aptos 42-14 at half (tripling their score) with some nice long, high kicks resulting in 6 tries all converted; while Aptos came back in the 2nd half doubling Modesto’s scoring. Aptos may have scored more if not for about 5 untimely knock-ons. Good spirited party at Britannia Arms.

Date: 02/20/2016

Baracus 39 – Chico 14

Referee: Bertolone, Cary

Beautiful, sunny day in South San Francisco. It went back and forth for a while and Baracus scored a try on the 9th minute. On the 22,nd minute, .Chico made an interception and their center ran about 70 meters for a try and after making the conversion, were up 7-5. Evenly played game for the first half. In the second half, the most fit team won. Baracus scored tries on the 10th minute, 17th, 31 and 37th minute plus added three points for a penalty. Meanwhile, Chico scored one try on the 33rd minute and never gave up. Fun game to ref; everyone played in good spirits and only one yellow on the day.

Date: 02/20/2016

Baracus B 26 – Chico B 14

Referee: Bertolone, Cary

Both teams had full second sides and were anxious to play 80 minutes. Baracus ran three converted tries in and were up 21 – 0 at the half. Chico came back with two converted tries in the second half, but Baracus scored one more try to put the game out of reach. Good sportsmanship by both sides; great game!!!

Date: 02/20/2016

Cal Maritime 12 – CAL 35

Referee: Pescetti, David

It was a cold morning at Witter field in Berkeley, but it weather warmed up for a beautiful Rugby Saturday. The early fixture pitted Cal Maritime vs Cal.

Cal kicked off and was able to win the ball back and use their space and pace to score within the opening minutes of the match. However, Maritime was not to be undone. They were awarded a scrum 5 meters out of the Cal try line. A surprise to everyone was that Maritime pushed the Cal pack. Pushed them back to score a pushover try; galvanizing Maritime. Cal and Maritime were able to score points in this hard fought battle. Whenever Cal seemed to take a step ahead Maritime would muster up points to remind Cal they hadn’t gone anywhere. By the half the score was Cal 20 and Maritime 12.

The second half was just as hard fought, but with less scoring from either side. Cal was the only side to put points up on the board in the brutal continuation of the physical contest of the 1st half. It was a great match by both sides. Final score Cal 35 – Maritime 12

Date: 02/20/2016

California 65 – Air Force 12

Referee: Bretz, Paul

Good first half of play. Air Force scored early 2 times and gave Cal all they could handle. Second half was all Cal as they controlled the pace. Air Force never stopped trying and will look to improve from this match.

Date: 02/20/2016

Chico St Women 29 – Cal Women 12

Referee: McSwain, Beau

Chico had 5 tries with 2 conversions and Cal had 2 tries with 1 conversion. Chico #6 had a yellow card for multiple team infractions. Other than the card it was a very good straight forward game.

Date: 02/20/2016

Chico State 41 – UNR 19

Referee: Devlin, Joe

No report received

Date: 02/20/2016

CSU Monterey Bay WR 5 – St. Mary’s College WR 62

Referee: Freitas, Larry

I drove down from Aptos to CSUMB mid-morning Saturday for another game pitting two fairly new programs against each other, as St. Mary’s of Moraga’s Gaels would take on Cal State Monterey’s Sea Otters. The skies were partly cloudy, and the big puffy ones hung over the various coastal ranges that ring the inland crescent of the Monterey Bay, leftovers from the last cold front that only produced some sprinkles the previous night.

My dashboard’s thermometer read 57F arriving a half hour before the match. I made the long walk to the pitch, and did my pre-game preparations.

The pitch itself was in fairly good shape, given the season’s rain, the games played previously in wet conditions, and the fact it is used for training. The field certainly was dried out from the quick-moving storm of Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.

Kick off was at 11:05, and right away I could see that St. Mary’s had a game strategy laid out that would lead to a number of tries as the game wore on: the forwards running the ball straight up the field, and with any contact having the next player up scoop the ball and advance it further up the field. There really weren’t many rucks then as opposed to a St. Mary’s tackled player just leaving the ball behind and having the next team mate pick it up and run on. Finally enough space would be created in mid-field that the ball was spun wide as defenders were sucked into the forward’s rushes. Katy Conway, St. Mary’s outside center, did score the first try of the match seven minutes into play, but it was a try scored from a turnover by CSUMB, when their inside center mishandled and pass that was scooped up from the ground just inside CSUMB’s half, and St. Mary’s had the chance to counterattack for a quick 7-0 lead. Eight minutes later the Lady Gaels scored a forward’s try after minutes of pressure deep in the opponent’s half. In fact much of the first half was played in the Monterey end of the pitch. Another key player for St. Mary’s was Katy Whiting, their scrum half, who was to switch to flanker in the second half of play. She’s very accurate with the boot, converting the first four tries for her team for a 28-0 lead, some from not the best angles for any kicker. Her coach told me after the game she spent the first semester of the school year at Oxford, and did make the Oxford second team. Pete Dawkins would be proud.

Before the half ended CSUMB would get on the scoreboard. Near the halfway line and from the left-hand side of the pitch CSUMB’s scrum half would score following a set scrum, when the ball was passed on to the flyhalf, who proceeded to run wide and pass the ball behind her in what appeared to be a planned scissors move. The problem was that the inside center wasn’t close enough to receive the pass that fell harmlessly to the ground. Scrum half Sabrina Bacuangan was close enough to scoop the ball up and start a sprint, leaving defenders behind, as she scored. The try wasn’t converted, and I was in a spot of bother, as I felt that hamstring pull that’s been bothering me lately when I dashed off behind the runner. St. Mary’s would score a few minutes later, the forwards using a few phases to finally crash over the goal line. Half time score was 33-5. I had the CSUMB trainer attend to my right hamstring, and I was able to complete my refereeing duties with a wrapped leg.

The second half started with CSUMB finally able to penetrate St. Mary’s half and put pressure on their defense. Several times I awarded five meter scrums to the Otters, but they couldn’t capitalize. I awarded a try and immediately disallowed it seeing that a St. Mary’s pair of hands had kept the ball from being grounded by a CSUMB player, just held up inches from the ground. I called a penalty when CSUMB’s scrum half double played the ball close to the goal line as she was tackled and tried to crawl forward to score. St. Mary’s finally ended quite a few minutes of this constant pressure when they cleared their lines, the clearing kick made by a forward. For the rest of the match CSUMB didn’t really threaten St. Mary’s territory. As for St. Mary’s, Conway, their center, would score two more back-to-back tries, as the ball was moved wide to the backs. Three more tries ended the match when St. Mary’s number 8, a second half substitute, took off on some long runs to score, two of these from lineouts from half way.

Final score: St. Mary’s 62, CSUMB 5. One positive note for CSUMB was that they did try to vary their offensive approach to the game, using their fly half to kick deep into space behind St. Mary’s backline when the opportunity arose, and making St. Mary’s retreat to cover. St. Mary’s also had a fly half adept at this tactic, though much more often than not the ball was kept in hand, whether by backs or forwards.

I stuck around for the CSUMB v Sonoma State match. I was going to referee that match as well, but my hamstring was telling me no. Fortunately Jeff Carlile, St. Mary’s coach, is certified, and he offered to referee that match. I owe him a pint.

Date: 02/20/2016

Danville 97 – Lamorinda 7

Referee: O’Neil, George

No report received

Date: 02/20/2016

EPA Razorbacks 21 – Life West 47

Referee: Lane, John

Arriving to Rich May Field the underage rugby games were still on-going and there was some good entertainment for the large crowd who were enjoying the bbq and refreshments while cheering on the young players!!

While the two teams were warming up on the nearby school fields I executed the pre-game boot check and coin toss with the captains.

As the youth games overran a few minutes both sides were ready to go immediately the games completed. The Razorbacks kicked of the game proceeding with a rousing Haka which Life West faced with calm composure. The supporting crowd loved it!!

Life kicked off and EPA held possession and the theme for the day with strong running into contact and powerful tackling being prominent. On their first real series of possession Life moved the ball quickly through a few phases and following a line break move the ball left and scored wide out. Unconverted – 4mins 0-5.

Following the score EPA put in some strong running but Life maintained field position domination forcing a few penalties from EPA. Life kicked these penalties to the corner and during this period of pressure the EPA No 8 deliberately slowed up their attack and received a yellow card. Opting for the 5m scrum Life truned over possesion and EPA cleared their line.

Down a man they were not able to hold Life out for long and they scored a second try (converted) on 17 minutes for 0-12. EPA then had a period of pressure and despite being down a man scored a converted try on 21 minutes to close to 7-12.

While EPA were being competitive with both sides executing aggressive lines and seeking contact they were reduced to 14 players on 24 minutes when after just returning to the field their No. 8 deliberately impeded an attacking Life player with a no arm early shoulder charge.

EPA’s 14 men kept the game competetive after the double yellow sending off but in a 5 minute period between 32 and 37 Life score 3 tries with one converted to take a 7-29 half time lead.

With the lead Life appear to lose some concentration and EPA dominated the early parts of the 2nd half scoring a converted try on 14 minutes. 14-29. EPA continue to pressurise and the Life 7 received a yellow card on 17 mins for deliberately slowing down attacking possession.

The card seemed to generate improved focus on the Life side and they returned a turnover for an unconverted try on 20 mins – 14-34. EPA responded and built the pressure again crossing for another converted try on 26 mins for 21-34.

With some input from the coaches on the side line Life decided to tighten the game up and where they were previously kicking penalties to the corner for attacking lineouts they decided to kick at goal on a penalty on 29 mins. Converted for 21- 37. Another penalty received for a yellow card deliberate obstruction by the EPA 14 on 33 minutes was also converted to stretch the lead to 21-40. Despite being 2 men short EPA put in a huge effort over the remaining 7 minutes but on 36 mins Life picked up a loose ball and returned it for a converted try.

This left the final score at 21-47 in a physically hard fought game.

Date: 02/20/2016

Fresno State B 21 – Sac State B 39

Referee: Jury, Jeff

No report received

Date: 02/20/2016

Jesuit 19 – Granite Bay 17

Referee: Carney, Mark

Great game that allowed for a lot of expansive play. Jesuit never trailed, but Granite Bay made it a nail biter all the way to the dying seconds. Notable players were Jesuit 1 and 7, and Granite Bay 2 and 10.

Date: 02/20/2016

Mendocino 12 – Google 45

Referee: Hammack, Robert

Good game of rugby played on a beautiful day in Ukiah. The pitch was still wet from the recent rains which made for a slippery ball and a corresponding number of scrums. Continuity was also hard to come by given the conditions but both teams strung together several nice periods of play. Unfortunately for Mendocino, Google played more with ball in hand and made less handling errors which resulted in the final score.

Date: 02/20/2016

Mother Load 11 – Solo 34

Referee: Boyer, Rich

Saturday night under the lights, full moon in Folsom, where Mo Lode hosted Solo. Mo Lode came out strong and put Solo on the back foot. Multiple penalties resulted in a quick penalty goal for Mo Lode followed by a try. Solo clawed back to tie the match at halftime. Solo made adjustments in the second half which resulted in 4 second half tries. Notable players included Mo Lode six and nine; Solo flyhalf with a cannon boot and 8 man. Good ball movement by both teams with good recognition of gaps.

Date: 02/20/2016

Olympic Club 2 37 – Diablo 14

Referee: Gordon, Preston

O Club had an edge in the backline in this game, which went well with their offloading play and lineout work. Diablo looked pretty good too, and were the stronger team in the scrum. Both teams were looking for opportunities to move the ball around, which was a good use of the GAA’s full-width pitch C, nor were they shy about making big hit-ups and ferocious tackles.

The scoreboard started running in the 3rd minute, with a try to Olympic Club, followed by 4 more (1 converted) in the half, at 5′, 10′, 15′, and 34′. It was a little windy, but nothing too unusual and most of those conversions were kickable. Regardless, they had a sizeable lead of 27-0 at that point. Diablo put a dent in that with 2 of their own converted tries in the 40th and 46th minute (running time) of the first half to leave things at 27-14. The extra time was needed to get the Diablo #1 patched up after he and the OC #7 ran into each other in a tackle situation, leaving a pretty solid coat of blood on one guy’s forehead and the other’s eyebrow. Both went off to get stitches, I assume, skipping the blood bin.

In the second half, both teams kept up the tempo, with O Club getting 2 further tries at 9′ and 37′ to end up at 37-14. The penalty count was reasonably low, but the Diablo #13 went to the bin in the 2nd minute of the 2nd half for a no-wrap tackle. He was followed by the OC #19, yellow carded in the 23rd minute for a high tackle, and a really silly yellow card just before the end of the match to an OC player for cynically not retreating 10m and killing a Diablo tap & go in O Club’s 22.

Overall, it was a pretty good matchup, though the score may flatter Diablo a bit due to O Club’s 6 missed conversions. I covered 3.5 miles myself, which isn’t bad for the 2nd match of the day. Thanks to both teams for playing a fast, good-tempered, and almost completely clean game, and thanks to the guys that touch judged as well.

Date: 02/20/2016

Olympic Club Alumni 65 – Bald Eagles 17

Referee: Gordon, Preston

It was a lovely day on TI and this game saw a great gathering of familiar faces, along with a few guys who look like they could still be playing in the men’s league. Fred Forrester scored the first of the Bald Eagles’ 3 tries, using his red beret to its full advantage.

Ultimately, O Club was stronger in the 4 20-minute periods we played, with 11 tries to their credit. There was the occasional running narrative on the laws in this game, but nothing too annoying. I covered a bit over 3 miles in this game, which was a pretty good warmup for the later O Club men’s league match that afternoon.

Date: 02/20/2016

Sacramento Capitals 60 – Berkeley 13

Referee: Tucker, Chris

Story of the day — Capitals have a strong, strong back line. They cut holes in the Berkeley defence all day. I gave a couple of yellow cards to the Caps for goal line infringements, which cut the pace of scoring in the second half, and Berkeley then touched down their second try with the two man advantage they’d built. But by then the score differential was insurmountable. Thanks to all for a fine run in the Sacramento sunshine.

Date: 02/20/2016

Sacramento Capitals B 68 – Berkeley B 14

Referee: Madsen, Erik

With a majority of players having to put in double duty for both teams we settled on a match of 10s. Sacramento kept the momentum and wide ball for a lot of big breaks in this one sided match.

Date: 02/20/2016

Sacramento Lions 14 – Santa Rosa 33

Referee: Bryant, Lee

This was one of the more contentions matches I have done in awhile. Big hits and tough scrums throughout the match made this a cracker of a game. Santa Rosa dominated the scrums through the whole game and managed to push for at least 5-7 meters each scrum before getting the ball out to the backs. Both teams fought hard at the breaks downs and were proficient at poaching. This game also had a number of great rolling mauls from both sides that made me work the offside lines. When they were on the offense, the Lions backs moved the ball beautifully and smoothly and was able to score couple of tires in the second half to keep the match close after being shut out in the first half. Santa Rose stayed steady in the match as was able to score a couple of tried and make points off of penalties near the posts for a solid win over the home team.

Date: 02/20/2016

San Jose 17 – Fresno 29

Referee: Hinkin, James

The San Jose Seahawks took on Fresno for a D1 clash on a picture perfect day in San Jose. With the Seahawks ladies warming up the pitch for the men we had another one of these glorious rugby festival days that old timers such as myself could only dream of. The grass was green and lush with a wide, perfectly marked field to play on – perfect conditions. The only imperfection to my eye was the rather short in goal areas. As a former winger who loved the kick and chase I always wanted a large in goal. This would prove significant.

Both teams started well with a pattern designed to dominate in the forwards. The teams went back and forth with possession and territory changing hands in an entertaining back and forth match. San Jose was able to draw first blood with a lineout move from in close where #8 Dan Nagle was stopped just short, but lock Aaron Goldfarb has really long arms and was able to pick up the ball and reach forward and dot it down for a try. Fresno responded with increased pressure but San Jose was up for the task. This is when the short in goal became a factor. With the half looming the Seahawks were able to swing the ball wide and the winger put a kick in behind the defense for the chase. The ball rolled towards the try line when the covering Fresno winger tried to corral it but failed, knocking it back into the in goal where both San Jose and Fresno players converged on it. San Jose won the race and dotted it down and as I arrived I looked around for the dead ball line. The ball was resting about a foot beyond the dead ball line to I awarded a 5 meter scrum for the defense bringing the ball into the end goal. San Jose protested that they got it down in the try zone but I have AR nor do I have a TMO, so play on. Fresno was able to turn the ball over from the resulting phase play and run 90 meters for a score at the other end on the stroke of half time. With the conversion the score was 7-5 – a 12 point swing on that sequence.

The second half was another back and forth affair as Fresno scored early only to have the Seahawks strike back with a converted try from Ismael “Sefa” Keller to tie the game at 12. After that Fresno was able to show their finishing prowess as they pushed San Jose back and got over the line twice more. With 9 minutes remaining San Jose was given a lifeline when Ill discipline at the tackle saw a Fresno prop sin binned for repeated team infringements at the breakdown only to have the fullback do the exact same thing 2 minutes later, resulting in another yellow. With a 2 man advantage the Seahawks were able to exploit the space and get another try from Keller but on the ensuing kickoff San Jose was penalized for holding on and Rodney Tuisavalalo calmly stroked the kick through to put the game out of reach. San Jose was determined however and the game ended with Fresno captain and scrumhalf “Cowboy” latching on to the ball as the Hawks tried to get it down over the line. Held up in goal. End of match. A very entertaining match from both sides.

Date: 02/20/2016

San Jose B 15 – Fresno B 32

Referee: Tuisavalalo, Rodney

I thought this game was an example of true gamesmanship and rivalry to be expected in the game of rugby. Former teammates now opposed each other on the pitch, and no one backed down from this familiarity. Insults were hurled, crunching tackles were given, and hard runs were rewarded with sly comments and the occasional pat on the back. It made my refereeing that much more enjoyable. Fresno dotted down first to take the lead after the 5th minute. The Seahawks countered with a dazzling run by their center to even up the score. Both tries were unconverted. A second try by the Seahawks captain and number #8 saw them take a brief lead in the waning moments of the 1st half. With a little less than a minute left, Fresno powered their way down the field for a try in the corner-again tying the game. The second half saw Fresno playing the ball out wide with little use of their forwards, and were rewarded with a few more tries which were all unconverted. A Seahawks player by the name of Holcolm displayed an unusual talent of kicking and chasing the ball. I say unusual because he was same size as Fresno’s biggest prop. The twinkled toed forward was rewarded when San Jose dotted their final try of the game near the goal post. The try was unconverted. The game ended with a final try to the visiting team when their #8 Peni broke through the lines and secured the try under the posts. Fuahala , the 290 lb prop slotted the only conversion of the game. Big men ruled the game this day, and from what I’m told took their winning ways to the beer kegs post match.

Date: 02/20/2016

San Jose Women 6 – Sacramento Amazons 75

Referee: Hinkin, James

The ladies of the San Jose Seahawks took on the Sacramento Amazons Saturday morning on a perfect day in San Jose. Both teams had a full compliment of players but San Jose was forced to work with a short bench – a fact that would prove significant later. Both sides came out firing but the Amazons quickly established a physical dominance. It seemed as if San Jose had 10 players willing to tackle but the other 5 were either unsure or unaware of their responsibilities and the Amazons gratefully took the offered gaps. Even with a player advantage after only 8 minutes due to a dangerous tackle the play was dominated by the visitors. 7 tries were scored with 3 conversions while San Jose could only muster up a solitary penalty.

The second half was much the same as the first as a full strength Amazon team took it to the home side. 6 tries (2 converted) to the same solitary penalty was to damage as injury and attrition left the Seahawks playing with only 14 for the last 10 minutes.

This is not to say that the Seahawks did not do themselves proud. They tackled for all they were worth and put in a solid effort. There was never any hint of giving up nor a lack of commitment. I have seen the growth of the club from a few ladies playing 7s a couple of years ago to a full 15s side. Now that the numbers are starting to show they can look to clubs such as the Amazons to see how the next stage of their development should go.

Date: 02/20/2016

Santa Clara Univ WR 12 – Univ Nevada Reno WR 68

Referee: Pohlman, John

Santa Clara University women hosted University of Reno women at Bellamy Field this past Saturday for a 1:00 kick off. Beautiful day for rugby.

Reno had close to thirty players available. SCU had some injuries and only had 17 players available.

This was a far more competitive game the the score would indicate. SCU had many opportunities to score only to turn the ball over and not reset their defense quickly. The first four tries for Reno were off penalties or mostly turnovers. One early opportunity had SCU turn the ball over within ten meter of their try line, only to have Reno score from the mistake.

Both teams had some quality players. Reno led by captain Cara #10 and their #12 and #15. These three were fast and dynamic runners who scored numerous tries.

Date: 02/20/2016

SFGG 28 – Sacramento Blackhawks 17

Referee: Leisek, Joe

Beautiful, crisp morning on Treasure Island, with an 11 a.m. kickoff being the first match of a rugby triple-header on Ray Sheeran Field. This was an intense, competitive contest throughout, with the home side pulling away only in the last 10 minutes. Lots of hard contact up front and ball movement out wide. One of the highlights was a prolonged, sustained goal line attack and defensive stand in the second half. The Blackhawks eventually scored a try at midfield after several pick-and-drives just in front of the goal line. Patience rewarded. Great moment.

Date: 02/20/2016

Sierra College 10 – Santa Rosa JC 46

Referee: Hosley, David

This was a first for me–a community college match. It’s an area for possible growth, as not many have club sports and it could help retain students and provide some activities outside the classroom.

Date: 02/20/2016

Stanford Women 19 – UC Davis Women 12

Referee: Simko, Paul

It was a perfect 60 degrees in a warm sun at Steuber Field at Stanford. We had a noon kickoff and this game was probably the best contested game I have every refereed. This was a match of momentum and UC Davis had it in the first half, keeping the ball in tight with the pack with a pick and go strategy that they used much of the game. Two penalties by Stanford in the first half near their goal line set the stage for two tries by UC Davis. One was near the posts and the other was outside. Score at half time was 12-0 in favor of UC Davis, but the match was closer than the score revealed. The second half was very similar, except the teams, flip-flopped. Stanford’s backs were running downhill in the second half, and UC Davis was playing tough defense. Stanford tied the game 12-12 around the 65 Minute mark. Stanford’s second try was in the middle of the posts after 3 or 4 held up in goal attempted tries. Stanford took the lead around the 70 minute mark. The hitting was hard with blood and a few injuries. UC Davis had untimely knocks and penalties that kept them out of the try zone in the second half.

Date: 02/20/2016

UCSC 60 – SFSU 7

Referee: MacDonald, Neil

Glorious sunshine and stellar views across the Monterey Bay were the reward for finding my away around road closures in the mountains, and circumnavigating the Slugs’ campus to avoid the bike race the university was hosting. Of course, since Santa Cruz must be kept wierd, there was a group of unicyclists racing too. Ten years and twenty pounds ago I used to race road bikes, and I briefly felt the pull of the peloton, before being forced to admit that the occasional outing as a MAMIL (middle-aged man in lycra) would have been scant preparation for umpteen circuits of the campus, and that in any case, I had a prior engagement.

This bottom of the table clash in the Pacific Western Rugby Conference pitted SFSU (#9, 0-3) against UCSC (#8, 1-3). UCSC began strongly, with SFSU’s front row struggling mightily at scrum time, but UCSC had to settle for kicking a penalty despite sustained pressure in the opening exchanges, having spilled the ball over or close to the line a couple of times. A rush of blood to the head led to Santa Cruz’s fullback spending ten minutes on the sidelines after failing to wrap, and SFSU took advantage to score a well-earned try and go ahead 3-7 with 22 minutes played.

Restored to full numbers, and stung by SFSU’s try, UCSC opened the flood gates and scored three of their own in the last ten minutes of the half to go into the break 24-7 up, much to the delight of the home crowd.

SFSU’s hopes for a second half resurgence were dashed in the second minute, when UCSC executed a devastating blind side move. #10 and #14 worked well together to cover 60m and put #14 in for the score. The rest of the match was more of the same, as UCSC’s superior accuracy earned rewards, and SFSU compounded the pressure with infringements in defense, conceding more territory to the strong boot of UCSC’s #10. In the final minutes of the match, with the hosts up 46-7, UCSC’s winger was cut down 5m out by a clothesline tackle from SFSU’s last defender. Straight from the kickoff from the resulting penalty try, UCSC’s fullback, determined to make amends for his earlier transgressions, took the ball 70m down the field, going around and through numerous defenders and scoring a brilliant individual try to end the match.

Date: 02/20/2016

UCSC B 24 – SFSU B 0

Referee: MacDonald, Neil

UCSC and SFSU contested a B side match of 20 minute halves. UCSC B carried the day comprehensively with three converted tries and a penalty kick, despite having a player in the bin for “not back any” for a quarter of the shortened match. The pick of the UCSC scores came in the 15th minute when their winger ran in from long range, stepping five defenders and stiff-arming a sixth on his way to the line. One wonders what damage he might have wreaked given 80 minutes in the A side game…

Date: 02/20/2016

Univ San Francisco WR 13 – Fresno State WR 36

Referee: Labozzetta, Chris

A very clean game between two well coached sides. The talent level was fairly even for both teams, with the exception of the Fresno #12 who scored several tries and was a step ahead of all the other players on the field.

Date: 02/20/2016

UOP 25 – USF 38

Referee: Wilson, Giles

Two small college teams that are trying to establish their place with their universities played a competitive game. Both teams had several new players with UOP being slightly more experienced overall but the USF flyhalf was better able to control the game.

The first few minutes were back and forth before the teams settled. UOPs style was big runners, staying close to the breakdown and when they played to their pattern they looked better. USF kept their #8 in the backs and worked the gaps in the 12 & 13 channels well, they created space well when they could settle into their pattern.

The first half ended with UOP ahead 15-10 (3 tries to 1 converted try and a penalty). In the second half, USF were able to pull away with a 4 tries to 2 margin but also by virtue of kicking their goals.

Date: 02/20/2016

Vacaville 29 – Life West 2 26

Referee: Taueva, Favor

very good day for rugby. Turf pitch is not my best for rugby but it was JR for two team to play good rugby. My appreciation for Johnson Lee. Thank you for taking your time to be part of our referee associations and helping us to better refs. Hope we can do things together in the near future. Learn a lot for a short time we have and I deeply appreciated. Vacaville was on their best behavior and ball skills while Life West was in a Lazy mode to play the first half. It was 21 to Life West 5 at the second half and that’s a lot of points to catch up at the second half. Life West almost catch up with Vacaville but the time didn’t allow them. Over all I feel very good and enjoy being a ref.

Manuia !!!!

This Week’s Photo

The crew who oversaw the epic battle in Moraga. L-R Pelicus Byrnest, Pelicus Fistulator, John “I have no Pelican Name and it makes me sad” Coppinger.

We all took a break from winter last week as temperatures in Pelicanland soared into the 70s and even low 80s (34 centipedes in SI units) but according to the Weather Priestess the El Niño rains will soon be returning in force, so don’t put away that rain gear just yet. I hope everyone wakes up to one more sunny Rugby Day with the bold, italic taste of freshly brewed coffee kick starting a day of sun, fun, whistles and tries.

Down in the valleys our reservoirs are starting to fill up and up in the mountains our snowpack is getting up to 100% of normal, but as we are in a multi-year drought we need more than that. Time for nature to give more than 100%. Fellow Pelicans, take advantage of the free tanning sessions because it won’t last.

As Ford Prefect asked, “You got a towel with you?”

Inspiration or Desperation?

There seems to be some confusion or possibly unintended misdirection in much of the poetry and nonsense that is produced here in the Hail Pelicus. We, the editorial staff of HP, would like to state that we are just not that original, but do think we are pretty clever when it comes to satirizing or otherwise appropriating the works of others. This was true in the past – the poem celebrating the US 7s win in London was almost line for line taken from “Casey At The Bat” – and is still true today. I had responses from more than one Eric regarding last week’s “Song for Eric (Ode To The Truncated B Side Match)” suggesting that the poem was directed at them and they really don’t complain about short B sides all that much.

That is not the case; remember, we are not that original. The poem/song was taken from the classic Monty Python sketch “Eric The Half A Bee” (the hint was in the title). I used the Monty Python sketch to highlight the number of B sides that play 20 minute halves and, well, “half a bee” fit perfectly. At the end I also reminded clubs that they still get charged a full match fee no matter the length of the match itself, so there is that as well.

Because it is hilarious I recommend you take a moment to watch the sketch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVhXkQu5_Ig . Those readers who are currently off their medications (or on some of the better ones) can go back to last week’s HP and sing along with our updated lyrics.

Trigger Warning! If insect sodomy offends you then you may want to skip it.

There are other Easter Eggs scattered throughout most HPs as well, you, dear reader, just need to look for them. For example, last week’s Ask A Pelican question about high schools came from David Wooderson, which happens to be the name of Matthew McConaughey’s character in “Dazed and Confused”. Yes, we do think about these things.

Las Vegas Needs Refs

Apparently LVI Tournament Director Jon Hinkin was upset at last week’s call for LVI referees stating, for the record, that “I give great gifts”. His passionate pleas have swayed the editorial staff here at Hail Pelicus and we fully retract last week’s statement that he gives thoughtless birthday presents and want to say that we truly enjoy the belly button lint brush he gave us last year.

Now that that unpleasantness is cleared up, if you are planning to go to Vegas for the USA 7s and want to referee at the LVI, details are here:

Referees – we need your help as a volunteer with the biggest tournament this spring – Las Vegas Invitational March 3, 4, 5-6th! We have 70 refs currently registered… and need 40 more refs!!!!!!

Referees will receive:
1. Free referee jersey
2. Tickets to all 3 days of the USA 7’s International tournament (when you stay at The Westgate Hotel) at LVI Discounted Rates.

Yes, it’s time for this week’s installment of “Ask A Pelican”, the widely loved Q and A session with Hail Pelicus. This week’s question comes from Edmund Gerald Brown, Jr of Sacramento, CA who asks:

“I am new to the Pelican Referees and I feel a little left out because I don’t have a NCRRS track suit or kit bag, not to mention tee shirts or polos. I don’t even have ties or pins to wear and trade with other referees. Will we ever order more and if so, when can I get some?”

I would like to say is an honor to have you in our society, Mr Brown and that you are not alone in thinking we need new kit. Even the grizzled veterans of the society have noticed that their kit bags and track suits are becoming more grizzled than they are. The NCRRS has appointed a new kit cat, Pelicus Pedem Referre, who you may have noticed handing out the jerseys, shorts and occasionally socks at our monthly meetings. He is working with the NCRRS board to update our kit and will be sending a request for orders out to the flock soon.

Great match. Very lively players with great gameplans. Standouts include Solo ten and fifteen, Danville nine and eight. Great offloads, tactical kicks and chase. Solo came out on fire and scored two tries in the first six minutes as a result of open play and backs offloads. Danville came back strong on the back of their number 8 and some precision running into gaps by 10 and 12. Solo were beneficiaries of Danville infringements within easy shot of posts and their flyhalf kicked three penalties, two which proved to be the winning margin. 22-10 Solo at half. Danville retrieved momentum somewhat in the second half, with an unconverted try at the death. Really good play and sportsmanship exhibited by both teams.

Both teams showed a lot of heart through the entire match. It started with 3 unconverted trys to Los Gatos from some long runs in the first 15 minutes. The Warthogs kept working and battled back to put 2 unconverted trys up with the the first half ending by a last score by Los Gatos ending the half 10-22 to Los Gatos. The second half was nearly the reverse of the first with the Warthogs coming out the gates with 3 trys (2 converted) under 15 minutes. With some back and forth scores the game came down to a break away run with a forward pass to the wing by Los Gatos. The following Warthog scrum was lost and Los Gatos showed great speed and hands to score. The final was 36-43 Los Gatos in a fast paced high intensity match.

Date: 02/13/2016
Berkeley 10 – Chico 17
Referee: Wood, Scott

Venue: Godfrey Park, Alameda

Chico benefited more from Berkeley’s penalties than a cohesive game plan. Both teams have good back lines but space was impacted by a pitch less than 70 meters wide.

Date: 02/13/2016
Berkeley B 21 – Chico B 10
Referee: Madsen, Erik

Following a hard fought A-side match, the B-side followed to be well contested. Both teams had great numbers and didn’t have a lot of guys playing double duty so they played nearly a full length match (30 min halves). The first half didn’t have a scrum till 15 minutes in (although a few penalties) and ended up 7-10 in favor of Chico. The second half had some scrappy play from both sides and working down the field with the results favoring Berkeley with some dynamic running through the middle by center that could not be brought down. End result was 21-10 Berkeley Bs with great attitude and play from both sides.

It was a beautiful day for rugby at Witter field on Saturday. Both teams came out hard, but Davis kicked off and got the ball back for a quick score in the first few minutes. They followed up with another breakaway a few minutes later. Cal had some good hands and answered with a try of their own, but that was the last time that the Bears would see the try line, even though they had several good series with ball in hand an got a few balls out to their winger. Davis was just overall faster and harder to tackle. Cal was able to make a couple of poaches, but Davis had excellent support all the way down the field, they would pick the ball before a ruck could even be formed and then would break through one or two people before they would go down again. Davis had some super speedy wingers and their #12 could zig zag her way around most people then accelerate to the posts. I was impressed that Cal fought the whole time and never gave up. Great job to both teams.

The Valley was awash in almond and peach blossoms as I went north for a spirited contest between Chico and Stanford women. Close until late, the Chico women kicked and covered to their advantage and won going away.

Date: 02/13/2016
Colusa 81 – Aptos 7
Referee: Boyer, Rich

A crystal clear day, with the snow capped peaks of both the Sierras and Coastal range in full view, on the way to Colusa. This, combined with the amazing contrast of blooming almond orchards and the bright green grass brought on by last month’s rain, made for a most excellent drive.

Colusa opened strong with good forward play and quick back ball, with Grandma (he’s only 25 years old), the inside center making the most of it and having a hand in the first three tries, scoring one himself. Ardie the openside was conspicuous by his work rate and strong ball carrying (and WAY too conspicuous in his post match attire). Aptos had moments of brilliance but were bothered by silly mistakes. Colusa tracked to a point a minute in the first half capped by 46 years young prop Paul Santinelli’s burrowing try. 40-0 at half.

Colusa subbed in younger players for the second period; Aptos had none. Aptos flanker Matt was very good chasing the restarts, the young kiwi inside center showed great skills with poaching, but it wasn’t enough. Colusa picked up in the second half where they left off the first: a point a minute. They illustrated sublime offloading in tackles, led by captain Cody Beckley, and it seemed they had a never ending overlap. But all of a sudden the Aptos outside center Fox makes himself known with two scintillating runs. Then he breaks one for a 70 meter try leaving pursuit in his wake. But after this it was all Colusa, again. Credit to Aptos for never giving in. And credit to the great Colusa fan base.

Date: 02/13/2016
CSUMB 14 – USF 24
Referee: Freitas, Larry

This game was played at USF instead of CSUMB, as the venue was changed some time ago by the two schools. USF’s turf soccer field was the destination, and on the day one couldn’t have had better weather in San Francisco: about 70F at game time under sunny skies and no wind blowing onshore from the ocean. The problem with the day was the field itself, as the goal posts were on the deal ball line, which is the actual goal line for the soccer, with the goal lines placed at the six yard box line across the pitch using tape. The 22 was partially taped across the pitch only some 17-18 yards further up field. I won’t go on about this except to say that college kids should know how to use some device to measure distances, and that perhaps USF’s rugby club should look into using one of the many fields that exist in San Francisco, with a grass surface!

The game started with some movements by both teams’ back divisions, finding some space to move the ball out wide before being checked by the cover defense. Finally, some eight minutes into the match, USF’s inside center, Joe Burson-Ryan, scored a try with some nifty running; 5-0 USF, drawing first blood, which would spill some from players as the game progressed. At 22 minutes the Dons would score again, this time when their halfback, who had just previously failed to score when his foot was in touch as he dived into the left hand corner, did score from a five meter scrum awarded after a crooked CSUMB throw from the lineout, as he made a break in a very determined fashion. Now it was 10-0 after a failed conversion attempt. The tackling in this game was hard, but clean, and falling on that turf meant perhaps an injury was likely, and therefore one CSUMB player went off with a shoulder separation, and thirty minutes in Mario Chavez, CSUMB’s outstanding center who last week scored on a 40 meter run against Santa Rosa, went down with what would later be diagnosed at St. Mary’s hospital with a torn ACL. Unfortunately the injury, though a mere five feet from the touch line, stopped the game for 20 minutes, as he had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance. Play resumed with ten minutes left after such a long break, and USF would score again, when a penalty was run in from five meters out. CSUMB would score a try near the break when a maul formed a few meters USF’s goal after a tap penalty, and one of their forwards used all his strength to place the ball over. Josh Silver, CSUMB’s flyhalf and kicker, converted from a good distance and angle. Immediately afterwards one of USF’s coaches yelled over at me that kicks needed to be taken at the other end of the pitch, as homes were behind the south end, and those living in them didn’t like balls kicked over the very high fence; the ball didn’t end up in anyone’s yard, this just another reason that this isn’t such a great venue for a rugby match. USF’s lead at the half was 17-7.

One issue I was having had to do with both front rows, usually CUSMB, anticipating the “set” call. Both teams were penalized for barging at least once, and finally that problem disappeared. Both teams were able to win a scrum against the head as well. Another issue was one of CSUMB’s players getting a bit lippy, with the opposing side. I advised both captains to keep their players temperatures down. I didn’t want any fights breaking out; none did during this game.

The second half commenced and neither team was able to do any scoring for the majority of the time. USF had one long break down near the left-hand touch line, looking as though they would score, with some perfectly-timed passing, taking advantage of an overlap and supporting runners. Unfortunately, some twenty meters from the goal line, with one last CSUMB player chasing desperately, he was obstructed as he was closing in to make a tackle. I yelled out “I saw that” and blew the whistle for the penalty. Ten minutes before full time USF would score, as Joe Burson-Ryan kicked and chased, recovering the ball and finishing off a try that was converted to basically seal a win for the home side with a 24-7 lead. Not to be outdone, Josh Silver of the Otters would score a try from a free kick that was run from some thirty meters out, receiving a pass, feinting to run wide, cutting back in and finding an open field ahead of him to sprint to the goal line, touching down to the left of the posts. As I turned around after marking the try some from both sides were jawboning at each other again, with the CSUMB player previously mentioned the cause. He had already been warned by me not to talk anymore during the match, or he’d be sent off, as he had done some taunting beforehand that didn’t go over well with USF’s players. By not talking I meant not at the other team, however, and let USF’s captain know that was what I meant. I would expect a player to celebrate some after his team scored, along with his team mates, and I couldn’t claim any taunting had occurred after this last try of the match was scored; I was some twenty meters away at the goal line. As it was I had to use my judgment that no further conduct contrary to good sportsmanship, covered by Law 10.4 m had occurred, just some celebratory words. Silver, who is English from Yorkshire and is a visiting student, and has a siege gun of a leg, converted the try easily enough. The game ended with USF having a 24-14 lead.

I want to thank CSUMB’s team leader Nico Di Jorlando for giving me a ride up to the match, picking me up in Seacliff. He’d never driven on notorious California Highway 17 beforehand, and neither had the other CSUMB player who gave me a lift home.

Date: 02/13/2016
Diablo 10 – Baracus 57
Referee: Richmond, Jeff

Baracus was just too strong all around for Diablo to keep up with. Diablo had a fair number of less experienced players but never backed down and played hard to the end. The fast conditions at Cal Maritime fed Baracus’ speedy back line. Of note was Baracus’ ability to dominate scrums; they probably stole a third of Diablo’s put-ins. The last 10 minutes got a little sloppy as substitutes began streaming in. Thanks to Mike Malone for the coaching.

A beautiful day for rugby in Fresno. Kinda hazy with the temps in the low 60’s.

Both sides appeared fit and ready for the contest. The CSUF women surprised St. Mary’s women with their straight lines and direct running for a half time score of 35-0. The second half was more of the same with a couple of the Gael’s athletes desperate side ways runs that did equate to a score, but pretty much played into the Fresno D. Final score CSUF 68 St Mary’s 7.

Mother Load seems not able to have the ball no longer then 5 minutes then is a turn over to Granite Bay. Granite Bay have the ball and use it for their benefits even they were having a hard time to break though Mother Load defense skills. When you play defense all the time eventually you are tired and that’s how Granite Bay starts making their points. Over all Granite Bay make their point using the whole game time while Mother Load score 19 points within 20miutes. Good rugby time from both teams.

A beautiful day at Humboldt State University. Large crowd and the game was on with a kick off at 1;00. Sierra scored just one minute in to the contest.

Humboldt kicked for 3 at the 12 minute mark. Sierra outplayed Humboldt and took a lead of 15-8 and made it 27-8 by the half’ even down a man. In the second half, both teams lost a man, but the game continued with Sierra being the better team and they won 51-15.Great day for rugby!

Another full day of rugby hosted by Life West as the genius of scheduling kept the ladies, D2 men and D1 men all together on the same day. The pitch looked perfect with proper posts and lines so no worries there. A referee tent and liaison added to the goal of making the game day experience as smooth and enjoyable as possible for players, fans and referees.

The D2 match was in full swing as I arrived so there was plenty of rugby going on to keep me occupied as the teams organized themselves. Life West were there early and in numbers even though they had rested a number of front line players for this fixture, the Blackhawks less so as players were arriving as late as 30 minutes prior to kickoff. Everyone was up and ready to go as the clock struck 1:00 so we were off. Life West was clearly the dominant side but the new additions were not gelling as well as the coaching staff had hoped. Flyhalf Orene Ai’I kept calm and directed play, as one would expect, and in spite of the valiant tackling from Sacramento the Gladiators put up 3 tries (one converted). The first half could have featured a more damaging scoreline except for Operator Error. Your humble referee accidentally reset his watch during the half and as a result managed to blow it up 7 minutes early. Not my finest moment.

The second half was more of the same as Life West pounded away. Each try seemed to be scored by a different player as the waves of attack flooded inexorably forward. That is not to say that Sacramento just rolled over. Indeed, no. The Blackhawks had stretches of possession and attack where they seriously threatened the Life West line but could not get that final push over until late in the match when a period of pressure led to a ruck 10 meters out and scrum half Josh Toy, slotting in at first receiver, sold a dummy (and provided a receipt) to saunter in untouched under the posts. The second half eclipsed the full 40 minutes so I blew full time. A well played match and both teams should be congratulated.

Score line is not a misprint. At half time the score was 47-0. To the Amazon’s credit they kept working and scored their 2 tries in the last 15 minutes of the game. This game had 8 penalties total. Lots of running, open rugby. Not a bad way to start off the morning.

Date: 02/13/2016
Marin 74 – SF Fog 12
Referee: Hammack, Robert

Late start due to a bad accident on the Richmond bridge that kept me and a fair number of players from arriving in a timely manner. The players were raring to go by kickoff and the first 15 minutes showed good endeavor by both sides including a well-worked, length of the field try by the Fog. However, Marin’s fitness and game plan slowly took control of the game and earned them a steady stream of tries. The match never quite felt as lopsided as the final score might indicate as Fog continued to battle throughout and, if not for a few unlucky passes, may have been much closer. Play of the game goes to the very large Fog #8 – instead of trying to catch a very low pass from his fly half, he decided to boot the pass through on the fly and recover in the air 15 meters downfield which would eventually set up a Fog try several phases later.

Date: 02/13/2016
Modesto 33 – South Valley 3
Referee: Wilson, Giles

South Valley arrived with only 14 players. Despite this, they started with the early pressure and were stopped just short of the line. From this pressure they turned the ball over and Modesto went the length of the field to score.

In the tight, South Valley could hold their own (interestingly whether they used 7 or 8 in the scrum) but were undone by Modesto using pace and space in the backs. This pattern allowed Modesto to run in 5 first half tries (3 cons) with South Valley only able to reply with a penalty.

At half time, one of the South Valley players committed a dangerous tackle, earning a yellow card. During the break, several of their players who had picked up knocks, could not continue. They requested a forfeit and then 10s for the second half. This worked for a few minutes but with commitment flagging all around it was decided that a beer sounded better, rather than being half hearted and risking injury (I couldn’t see any good coming out of some players going full speed and others just not into the contest).

The reported score was from the first half with the game being a South Valley forfeit.

Date: 02/13/2016
Napa 126 – Mendocino 7
Referee: MacDonald, Neil

In the irony of rugby match scheduling in Pelicanland, I found myself leaving Sonoma State in Santa Rosa, where I just refereed Cal Maritime, to drive over to Vallejo to referee another match, at Cal Maritime’s field. Having overcome the dual challenges of north bay Saturday afternoon traffic and of finding parking on campus at Cal Maritime, I made it to the field to see Baracus B and Diablo B playing, refereed by a player in a yellow bib. Future pelican in the making methinks…

Having found the 12 Mendocino players, and Napa’s phalanx, and dispensed with pre-match formalities, we were ready for the off. By kickoff time, Mendocino’s numbers had swollen to 14, and after a short pause to find a ball with more air pressure than a marshmallow, we were off.

Off to my afternoon of sprint repeats, that is. Napa were unstoppable, scoring in the first minute, and racking up 24 points in the first 12 minutes. By half time, Napa had run in 11 tries and converted just over half of them, for a 69-0 lead. While great support running the hallmark of several scores, the pick of the first half tries came in the 32nd minute, when Napa #11 Tomasi Roba stepped or outpaced most of the Napa squad as he went the length of the field to score.

Napa began the second half as they had the first, scoring in the opening minutes. This time Mendocino struck back with a hard fought score of their own from close range before the flood gates opened, and Napa ran in another eight tries with #8 Taua Anitoni proving a ferociously potent attacker and a committed defender on the other side of the ball. Mendocino dug in and played positive constructive rugby throughout, making hard yards through their pick and go game, but could not contain the array of attacking weapons Napa brought to the match.

I’ve refereed Napa twice in the last month or so, and almost needed a calculator both times. Napa is going to be handful in D3 this year.

Date: 02/13/2016
Reno 43 – SiliconValley 26
Referee: Bryant, Lee

No report received

Date: 02/13/2016
Riordan 5 – Jesuit 67
Referee: Bretz, Paul

Jesuit is a smaller team then I have seen in years but are an extremely intelligent group. Jesuit’s plan against the much bigger team was to kick in their own 22 and make Riordan run. By 20 minutes into the game Riordan was gassed.

Date: 02/13/2016
San Jose 5 – Santa Rosa 34
Referee: Lew, Tim

Santa Rosa looked strong upfront controlling the scrums & mauls. San Jose looked good at times but also unorganized at times. The first half was fast and fun. Both teams competed well at the breakdown and each team got to run. In the second half, San Jose was unable to stop Santa Rosa outside and close to the try line. Good fun game.

Date: 02/13/2016
SFGG 38 – Fresno 17
Referee: Bernstein, Bruce

SFGG backs ran faster for the last 10 minutes to pull away from Fresno who gave Gate a fight with their scrum players. A few quicker subs for SFGG also helped as their scrum half (Travis Benson, my old teammate Bob Benson’s son) in the 2nd half had a nice 60 meter score followed by a real quick wing icing the match at the end. Score was 12-7 in Gate’s favor at half and remained close for the the next 20 minutes. Thanks to JC getting sick & Bryant switching reffing my women’s match after he did a pretty high caliber HS match on the the adjacent field for this “assigment.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Many thanks must go to Pelicus Avoidus Whistle Dude and Pelicus Byrnest for improvising at the last minute to make sure this match was covered. When you lose a referee at 10:30 Saturday morning there really aren’t a lot of options and there was nobody else able to cover it. Well done and JC owes the two of you a bottle of his signature wine.

Date: 02/13/2016
SFGG B 12 – Fresno B 12
Referee: Tuisavalalo, Rodney

It was a well contested match from the get go. Fresno drew first blood in the 3rd minute with tough hard running by their forwards. SFGG hit them right back with some dazzling back line play to even it up. Just before the half both teams scored converted tries with some hard hitting and blistering runs. I’d be wary of these two teams going forward as they both seem to be coming along in development. Wouldn’t be surprised if they cause an upset in the near future.

Date: 02/13/2016
SFGG PRP 36 – Denver PRP 7
Referee: Akroyd, Phil

Although the traffic to and from Treasure Island was horrendous, the rugby was pretty decent. The 1pm game was late in stating because OMBAC got stuck in traffic from the airport, so the 3pm game went off at 3:20pm. The low sun made for some difficult viewing angles, but we seemed to make it through without too many issues.

The game was pretty straight forward. SFGG held a lead and control for the entire game, and although Denver were only really out of it in the last ten minutes, they never really looked like they could overcome the “Rhinos”.

Two field no waiting rugby at SFGG’s Treasure Island venue. (And where does it fit in with the TI Master Plan?)

After a jaunty, fast paced 9am high school match, I was most politely approached by one of the coaches for the next match-Fresno Men vs SFGG. Their ref had reported in sick; was I interested in a second match? My thought bubble said, ”Surely you jest?”, but the old war horse in me was momentarily-and insanely-tempted.

I was saved by Dude Bernstein, who proposed a switch-I take his women’s game and he run with the bulls. So that is what we did. Gate’s back line was nimble, nifty and simply unstoppable. The elder abuse ceased at half time; I was given a gold watch and sent home.

EDITOR’S NOTE: See previous EDITOR’S NOTE and feel free to send in a review of JC’s wine Trust me, I will publish it no matter what you say.

Fresno State’s fitness and numbers (several SJSU players were in for their second match) let them run away with it.

Date: 02/13/2016
Sonoma 7 – Cal Maritime 49
Referee: MacDonald, Neil

70 degrees and clear blue skies in Santa Rosa, on a good grass field. In February. Zanarini and Valerio, what *were* you two thinking when you opted for New England? 😉 Cal Maritime dominated their Sonoma State opponents, who look to have graduated a lot of players since last season, and are rebuilding with a lot of new talent finding their way through the laws of rugby, particularly as it pertains to the game being played on your feet. Cal Maritime’s nous was demonstrated early when they threw in to an attacking lineout on their hosts’ 5m line, caught the ball, and set a maul, only to see the Sonoma State forwards part like the Red Sea. Without a word from the ref, the supporting players immediately disengaged without advancing, and the ball carrier ran through the gap to score. By half time, Cal Maritime were up 39-0 through a combination of stalwart forward play and devastating backs moves. With a raft of substitutions in the second half under NSCRO rules, the match was much more tightly contested, with Sonoma State holding their guests to two scores, before barreling over for a try and getting on the scoreboard in the 72nd minute.

Date: 02/13/2016
Stanford 25 – St. Mary’s B 19
Referee: Lane, John

On a weekend where I was not going to be available Pete Smith dug out an early 10am Saturday start in Stanford which worked.

There was plenty of fog on 85 on the drive to Steuber Field but absolutely no issues with the field which was in excellent condition as usual.

In what was an open game throughout St Mary’s started the strongest and had the upper hand overall for the first 15 minutes but handling errors stopped their momentum on a number of occasions. The turnovers conceded allowed Stanford to settle into the game progressively and on 18 minutes a turnover followed by some direct running and good hands gave them a 5-0 against the general run of play.

In their efforts to reverse this score St Mary’s looked to up the pace. Unfortunately for them a long floated pass on their own 10m line was well read and intercepted by Stanford for a converted try leaving the score at 12-0 on 20 mins.

Stung by this St Mary’s looked to up the pace even more. They looked to be in for a score at the right corner but unfortunately the winger dropped the ball over the line allowing Stanford to relieve the pressure with a 5m scrum. The pressure continued and eventually told with a try on the right well converted for 12-7.

St Mary’s maintained the pressure for the next few minutes but it was Stanford who finished the final few minutes of the half stronger and scored an unconverted try right on 39 minutes.

Half time the home side led 17-7 which both sets of coaches seemed surprised by!

St Mary’s started the second half with renewed effort and scored an excellent team try within 2 minutes and converted to close to 17-14.

They followed this with an unconverted score on 10 mins to take the lead 17-19.

Having take the lead the handling errors of the first half crept back into their game. Both sides had conceded offside penalties fairly frequently at the fringes of rucks in the first half and while Stanford reacted well to significantly reduce their count in the second half St Mary’s continued to infringe in the second period.

These penalties stopped st Mary’s momentum and Stanford managed a try on 16 mins to regain the lead 22-19. A further 3 points were added with a converted penalty on 23 mins. 25-19.

For the remainder of the game St Mary’s chased the game and created a number of excellent opportunities but handling errors and improved defending from Stanford kept them out with an open game finishing in Stanford’s favor 25-19.

Date: 02/13/2016
UCSC 5 – UC Davis 58
Referee: Moore, Stephen

One sided match dominated by UCD backline. All round a very disciplined match at the breakdown, clean offside lines with few infringement by both sides, long passages of play without whistle, made for a fast moving match at times. Good effort by UCSC but outclassed by a more experienced UCD side throughout the match.

What shaped up to be a great afternoon of rugby pitted Humboldt State Uni. versus University Nevada at Reno in a great women’s match. The opening kickoff showed that the teams were evenly matched. Multiple phase ball was recycled with little to no gain. There were plenty of turnovers which meant a plethora of scrums; both teams would only be so excited. Humboldt took an early lead after a penalty in front of the posts, they tacked on 3. Another penalty doubled their score. From there it was a one sided game with Humboldt scoring 6 more tries. Reno valiantly fought back and scored 2 of their own.

A beautiful day at Negoesco Stadium (San Francisco, I brought warm clothes thinking it will be cold but it was warm). The game started 20 minutes later than scheduled at 1:20.

First 26 minutes was extremely competitive as they were tied 7 (USF) – 5 (CSUMB) at the break. 26 minutes into the half one of the CSUMB props had an ankle injury (she hurt BOTH her ankles and she has history of injuring her ankles) and she had to have EMS come to take her off the pitch. Unfortunately the process took around 30 minutes and the two teams had to be off the pitch by 3pm so the first half was called early and they played a 45min.

The second half started at 2:15. USF started to shine during this half and they were faster than CSUMB. CSUMB had many missed tackles which resulted in multiple tries. A USF player high tackled and received a yellow within the first two minutes of the half. Both teams did not seem to understand the concept of coming through the gate and releasing the tackler after a tackle has been made.

Overall great playing from both teams and I really enjoyed my day at San Francisco on and off the pitch (I had a really good $40 dinner after the game)

This Week’s Photo

With Life West announcing g a Polynesian theme to their match weekend, Pelicus Pedem Referre decided to turn up in his Polynesian #1s.

Half a B, philosophically
Must, ipso facto, half not be
But half the B has got to be
A vis-a-vis its entity, d’you see?

But can a B be said to be
Or not to be an entire B
When half the B is not to be
For fear of sustaining injury?>

(Singing)

A laa dee dee, a one two three
We’re playing a half a B
A, B, C, D, E, F, G
It’s only half a B

Is this wretched demi-B
To be determined worthy
For players, coaches and referee
When it’s only half a B?

A fiddle de dum, a fiddle de dee
We’re playing a half a B
Hoh hoh hoh, tee hee hee
It’s only half a B

The watch is set to minute twenty
Or even captains will agree
To tens or sevens, no matter to me
You’re charged a full game fee

Yes, a full game fee
Our time is not for free.

The end

As Ford Prefect noted, “Vogon poetry is of course the third worst in the Universe. The second worst is that of the Azgoths of Kria…” Although there is some speculation concerning Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings, one can only guess as to what the worst poetry in the Universe is.

Las Vegas Needs Refs

Apparently LVI Tournament Director Jon Hinkin was upset at last week’s call for LVI referees stating, for the record, that “I give great gifts”. His passionate pleas have swayed the editorial staff here at Hail Pelicus and we fully retract last week’s statement that he gives thoughtless birthday presents and want to say that we truly enjoy the belly button lint brush he gave us last year.

Now that that unpleasantness is cleared up, if you are planning to go to Vegas for the USA 7s and want to referee at the LVI, details are here:

Referees – we need your help as a volunteer with the biggest tournament this spring – Las Vegas Invitational March 3, 4, 5-6th! We have 70 refs currently registered… and need 40 more refs!!!!!!

Referees will receive:
1. Free referee jersey
2. Tickets to all 3 days of the USA 7’s International tournament (when you stay at The Westgate Hotel) at LVI Discounted Rates.

February 10 will be the next society training at the SFGG clubhouse. This is a biggie so coaches and referees are strongly encouraged to attend or to watch via the live webcast.

6:00 PM will be the final Beep test opportunity for referees desiring to be assigned national appointments. All referees are encouraged to participate.

7:00 PM marks the start of our meeting and we will be discussing the new law changes that have taken effect. As a side note, I (NCRFU President Paul Bretz) will be developing an online activity to review the law changes. Please check the online class feed regularly.

As well as discussion of the law changes the schedule will include the following.

Pete Smith will be making a presentation on the tackle

Paul Bretz and the Life West coach Adrian Ferris will be presenting on developing a positive relationship between referees and team coaches. We all need to recognize that there are too many instances of issues between referees and team coaches in which our interactions have negative tones and we also need to take ownership for those issues. Ferris and I have been planning a joint presentation for a few weeks and wanted to capitalize on the recent Rugby Summit. We are asking for both referees and team coaches to be at the meeting. Please plan on attending.

Well Tie Me Up And Cal Me Sally

The USA and an Argentina development side met last weekend in Houston, TX. Northern California, the undisputed beating heart of rugby in America, was, as expected, well represented in the USA Eagles squad. Not only that, but our own Phil Akroyd was ARing along with Kurt “I Love Justin Beiber” Weaver. For those who don’t know the result, too bad, because I am going to tell you: it was a tie. As we all know, by long and sacred tradition whenever a referee is involved in a tie he or she must buy a round for the society. As this was a USA Eagles match, Mr Akroyd is now obliged to buy a round for every referee in the country. Because we are not cruel, we will allow him to split the tab with “Beiber” Weaver.

Ask A Pelican

Yes, it’s time for this week’s installment of “Ask A Pelican”, the widely loved Q and A session with Hail Pelicus. This week’s question comes from David Wooderson of Austin, TX who asks:

“I see that some high school matches are now being assigned by the NCRRS. Aside from the standard U19 variations, is there anything else an overprotective and micromanaged league might change to conform to their personal tastes?”

Why yes, Mr Wooderson, there is and as a long time observer of high school it is no surprise that you noticed this. You see, World Rugby sets the laws of rugby union as they are to be followed around the world with changes moving gradually into unions as seasons allow and these laws include what equipment is allowed for players to wear. As we can tell from last week’s question the unique pioneering spirit we have here in America says “pish tosh and applesauce!” to the rest of the world so don’t be surprised if you see high school boys wearing tights in the games you referee – it is allegedly perfectly fine for certain conditions.

From Rugby NorCal: “Leggings can be worn by boys and girls of all age groups (U8-HS) in both dry and wet conditions ONLY on artificial turf. So they are not allowed to wear them on grass.”

First weekend of February and the California sun arrived for the early kickoff (11:00am) for CAL v UBC.

TV Coverage certainly adds to the pre-match activities and also noticeably to the pre-match crowd buzz. It also adds to making things a little more complicated but healthy good humored banter with Rob and John was the order of the day!

CAL were gathered in the bowels of the superb Coliseum facilities so following a golf cart ride down I had the team talk with captain and players. Driven back up (I felt I should have brought my clubs!) I did the same with UBC and left the teams to their respective warm-ups.

By this stage 4 people had repeated that TV was dictating an 11:12 kickoff and I had been asked 3 times if I had been mic’d yet! On arrival I had met the mic guy and agreed we would do that at 10:50 which we did.

Rob, John and I went through the pre-match team of 3 prep with minimal interruption but we did get our “entry” instructions from the TV organizer, Jerry Figone and also the CAL Communications organizer.

After being mic’d and with CAL still in the Coliseum there was a quick deputizing of one of the CAL injured squad members to step in for the coin toss – which he won and chose to kick (with mobile phone instruction) with UBC opting to play from the Coliseum end (or uphill as one of the locals explained to me).

I managed to squeeze in a few minutes of warm up and was back in position with Rob and John at the stated time of 11:02.

UBC were welcomed to Witter Field, CAL were introduced to a raucous roar from the large crowd as they ran onto the field. Your Team of 3 walked authoritatively to the center and flanked by both teams faced the flags for the National Anthems. Who knew – we were introduced as the Ref and Assistant Refs for the World Cup!!

After all the prep we finally got the game underway at exactly 11:12!!

CAL kicked off and it was clear both sides intended to play open attacking rugby. UBC played the ball out of defense but and early handling error gave the ball to CAL who quickly spread the ball and while UBC made a few strong tackles they conceded a penalty for not rolling away and on 2 mins CAL converted it with a powerful kick splitting the uprights. 3-0 on 2 mins.

Both sides moved the ball well, mixing it up between spreading it wide and taking it up in close. Strong defense and some big tackles forced turnovers. Set plays of lineout and scrum were overall quite clean in the early stages with both sides winning their own ball reasonably well.

A few minutes in, following a high kick and chase the UBC 15 fell heavily on his back to the turf after a fair contest in the air – with the loud gasp from the crowd I was about to blow to check for player safety when the 15 hopped up and charged forward and placed the ball at the next ruck.

Play ebbed and flowed with a lot of endeavor and quite a bit of skill in a game which maintained a high pace through out. UBC started to gain field position through some strong back play and then with some close in forward play forced the penalty from CAL and leveled the scores on 3-3 on 13 minutes.

The game continued at pace with the large CAL crowd making themselves heard at every opportunity! At the occasional injury stoppages it was possible to check in with John and Rob and between us we were supporting a highly competitive game develop between the players.

On 21 mins, following a turn over on half way, the CAL 10 attacked at pace and crossing the 10m line, chipped the on coming 15 who then stepped across deliberately impeding the CAL 10 in full stride. With cover behind it was only a penalty but warranted a yellow card. The CAL 10 slotted the penalty for 6-3 on 22 mins.

Down a man, UBC upped their game and held the majority of field position for the next 10 minutes with some strong running from their 2 centers in particular and some probing kicks into the 22.. However CAL started to get the upper hand in the lineout with some steals on attacking UBC lineouts to relieve the pressure. UBC returned to 15 men but CAL dominated the close of the half including an excellent penalty conversion on 35 mins which lead to a 9-3 half-time scoreline.

UBC’s coach won the half time talk credits as his team started extremely strongly from the restart – retaining the ball well at the breakdowns and using their centers ability to break tackles or at least step through and offload, multiple phases were put together and they crashed over wide on the left. Their kicker converted brilliantly from almost on the touchline for a 9-10 lead on 43 mins. A period of fairly even play in terms of territory and possession followed but it was clear that UBC’s scrum was getting a slight upper hand giving CAL slow or poor ball but in direct contrast CAL were stronger at the lineout with the same effect.

On 52mins CAL were awarded a penalty just inside the UBC half straight in front of the posts. CAL’s 10 drove the 47 yard kick straight between the posts to regain the lead at 12-10 52 mins.

Shortly after this, the score of the game went to UBC. From just inside their own half they moved the ball through the hands right to left, and then left to right with some quick tackle recycles. CAL were stretched and as play came back right to left again their 12 had the speed to round one of the CAL forwards and offloaded to his outside center who fed the winger just short of the 22. With CAL desperately tracking to the corner flag defensively the winger feed back in field to his supporting 12 who went in untouched just left of the posts. Converted and UBC were back in front 12-17 on 56mins.

Roared on by the home support CAL upped their game again, turned down kicks at goal to play for the corner lineouts deep in UBC’s 22. UBC held firm but following a period of penalty advantage which lead to nothing CAL opted to kick a penalty from in front of the posts to bring the score to 15-17 on 64 minutes. From the kickoff UBC mounted pressure and were awarded a penalty 35 meters out near the 15m line. Despite excellent contact there was a big sigh of relief from the CAL stands as the ball went narrowly wide to the left of the posts. This was the only missed kick of the day with both kickers showing excellent skills.

At this stage it was clear CAL had adjusted their attacking plan as UBC were defending them well out wide. With much more direct play, they built momentum with a few pick and drive series. However UBC’s defense stayed strong and on each occasion the turn over came either through an isolated CAL player or strong tackling forcing a knock-on.

Just past 68 minutes CAL spread the attack wide having sucked in some of the UBC defence with strong drives. 5 meters inside the CAL half the UBC 13 cynically impeded his opposite number with a pull back after he had mis-timed a “shooter” attempt. This earned him a 10 minute rest with a yellow card.

CAL were pushing hard all the time but UBC managed to build a number of phases on 74 minutes and CAL conceded a breakdown penalty. After a few seconds of consultation the UBC captain indicated a kick at goal and turned to his players saying CAL had failed to score a try so far and if they kept it like that the game would be won (his wording was a little more direct!). The kick was good and with 5 minutes left it was 15-20.

The following 5 minutes saw CAL take up the challenge from the UBC captain and they dominated possession and spend most of the 5 minutes in the UBC 22. Despite UBC getting back to 15 men with 90 seconds CAL continued to pound towards the UBC line. Only one penalty was conceded and with multiple phases played off this last penalty UBC maintained there discipline and through some strong counter-rucking forced a turnover on 81 mins and kicked the ball dead.

From my seat this was an excellent game with two fully committed squads giving it everything with only a score between them at the end.

An excellent day out in the sun in Berkeley and I am sure the team of 3 would love to officiate at the return fixture in BC later in the season!

Date: 02/06/2016

All Blues 65 – San Jose Women 7

Referee: Sandhill, Peter

Held at Gilman Field in Berkeley (synthetic) on a stunning sunny Feb. day; must have been around 70 degrees. The All Blues had enough replacements to field two teams, the Seahawks had none. This really showed in the second half. The All Blues were very well coached and had responses for nearly everything thrown at them. The heart of the Seahawks was impressive, never giving up.

Both teams started out hard. Solid rucking, set piece and forward play from both sides. After the first quarter it was very even and then the All Blues began to pull away. There was a 15 minutes period in both halves where the Seahawks were camped on the All Blues line with raid after raid. They only yield once in the second half. For the past fifteen minutes the Al Blues scored a try every three minutes as the fatigue and lack of replacement options for the Seahawks began to take its toll. The back line play of the All Blues was a joy to watch.

Date: 02/06/2016

Cal Maritime 53 – Sierra College 12

Referee: Simko, Paul

Bodnar Field at Cal State Maritime is an excellent facility. It was a perfect day in the 60’s. Maritime had a strong pack and a working kick and chase game to manhandle Sierra College. Thanks to Lee for the great feedback. Reminder to other refs who go there, they ticket everyone. The machine was broken by Bodnar Field, so I had to drive further into campus to find another machine.

Date: 02/06/2016

Cal Maritime B 17 – Napa 2 48

Referee: Byrnes, Bryant

Lovely rugby day at Maritime. This was the second match on the day. While these college guys v senior men’s side games can be unsavory, such was not the case here.

Indeed, it was fun. Constructive for Napa, for the opportunity for the second side to have a full contested match- and they tried some new combinations. It was instructive for Maritime; these young fellows for the most part gave as good as they got against a bigger more experienced team. It was something of a rite of passage.

The first half was all Napa-and frankly some nifty ball handling in the back line. In the second 40 minutes Maritime settled and scored 17, as many as Napa.

Date: 02/06/2016

CSUMB 10 – Santa Rosa JC 39

Referee: Freitas, Larry

It was another Saturday drive southward to near the Monterey Peninsula, arriving at Cal State Monterey Bay, this time under sunny skies and a temperature that read 67F on my car’s thermometer, over ten degrees warmer from the previous weekend’s cold front weather. Both teams were warming up, and unlike last week, in which there was ample time to have the ladies team re-line the pitch, there wasn’t enough time today. Note to CSUMB: this needs to be done before every game! The touch lines, halfway, goal and dashed lines were all hard to see during the match. CSUMB’s pitch is one of the best in the state, has the real-deal goal posts, and so on; it’s well beyond “course rugby” conditions I’ve played on, officiated, and watched as a spectator from time to time since January of 1973.

Santa Rosa Junior College Bear Cubs would score the first try of the match three minutes in, when Devante Manning, who plays inside center, wearing number 12, and stands about 6’3” and probably weighs upwards of 240 pounds, ran in a try that was unconverted; I had to warn a CSUMB flanker that I was the referee and would officiate the game in these early minutes as well. Many minutes would go by before there would be another score, as both teams struggled to put together any sort of meaningful attack, and were hard-done by defenses that wouldn’t give. I sensed that Santa Rosa was the team that would eventually get an upper hand in this game, and they did. A penalty at 35 minutes put the visitors up 8-0, and some six minutes later, one minute into injury time, another unconverted try was scored to put them up by 13-0. There was still a few minutes of injury time left in the first half, and the Otters were able to put pressure on Santa Rosa deep in their half; an infringement at a ruck gave the home team an opportunity to kick a penalty for three points as time expired.

Seven minutes into the second half Santa Rosa was able to win a tighthead some ten meters out from CSUMB’s goal line, and once again Devante Manning scored after taking a pass from his outside half. The conversion followed, and it wasn’t too long before Santa Rosa had another opportunity to score a try, this time from a tap penalty just inside ten meters of the goal line, when CSUMB’s players failed to turn and face as they retreated to their goal line. CSUMB would have their chance to score a try when a penalty kick to touch didn’t find it from deep inside Santa Rosa’s end. A counterattack from halfway started; one of their centers who has pace touched down under the posts after a long run that included a few missed tackles from swerves; the easy conversion complemented that phase of play. As the game wore on to its conclusion, it seemed the weather was taking its toll on the energy of the players. Some players made mention of the fact this was the first game of the season played with warm and sunny conditions. If anything Santa Rosa seemed the fitter of the two sides. Two soft tries would be scored very near the end of the match, the last in injury time, for Santa Rosa to increase their lead before no-side was whistled. The game ended with the Santa Rosa scoring 39 points to CSUMB’s 10.

Both teams had a mixture of new and more experienced players. A few times I caught players on the deck, after releasing the ball, snatching it back into their hands and arms again while still on the ground. It’s also good to see more rucking from the defensive side, not just letting a team in possession “win” a ruck without a contest for the ball, and both teams used this tactic at various times in the match.

Menlo, a newcomer to the game, played both teams in a round-robin of sevens afterward. With a slight muscle twinge in my right hamstring, I let one of the CSUMB coaches take over the officiating duty.

Finally, I don’t understand why the big tarmac that lies between the pitch and the parking lot isn’t used for parking as well. Seems silly. Even the portable toilet had been moved from near the gate of the pitch to the middle of the tarmac, a good distance away! That’s a long walk after a match back to the parking. CSUMB’s admin needs to do something about this, and it would also be nice to have a parking permit vending machine near the pitch as well.

Date: 02/06/2016

Danville 60 – Mother Load 12

Referee: Pohlman, John

National Champion Danville hosted Mother Load in the first High School Variety Gold game of the year. Monte Vista High School was in full gear with food tents, numerous games and fans. The field is an artificial turf field. The size of the field and very tight side lines made the field far from ideal.

Danville has a bunch of hard running athletes mixed into a few high quality rugby players. This combination with the coaching staff could lead to another national championship.

Danville’s scrum half and captain Kevin led the way with two try s. Danville’s #8 was playing in one of his first games. He made a silly mistake which sent him to the bin, slapping the ball from Mother Load scrum half as he was preparing to take a quick tap penalty. I mention this because within minutes of returning he scored his first try of the game. He also scored another to start the second half.

This game had Danville with over 70% ball possession. Their hard runners just wore down Mother Loads tackling.

Final Danville 60 Mother Load 12.

Thanks to Jake and Steve two qualified referee’s for running AR.

Date: 02/06/2016

Fog 0 – Colusa 123

Referee: Bernstein, Bruce

Not much to say except Colusa looks like they’re back to last year’s division championship form. Their hooker stole most every Fog scrumdown & their captain & #8 & flanker #7 took their ball up numerous times along with an assortment of others–very team-oriented attack & defense. Most tries were of the 50 meter breakaway type, with no tries starting as a lineout or scrum inside the 20. 57 points (9 tries) in the 1st half followed by 66 (10) in the 2nd for 19 total tries. Also no high tackles or misconduct of any kind & great post-match festivities with food (BBQ chicken) & drink (local micro brews) provided by Modesto who hosted this 3rd Division Supersite with 10 teams & 5 refs.

Date: 02/06/2016

Fresno State 31 – UCSC 36

Referee: Fenaroli, Steven

Wednesday night comes and goes and I did not draw a game. After reaching out to the powers that be, I was selected as tribute to travel to Fresno for Saturday’s competition. I figured that I would outsmart the decision makers and take the train; heck I didn’t feel like driving 3 hours so why not kick back and experience the rails like our forefathers. The trip down the valley through America’s salad bowl was foggy and not very salad-y. I had arranged a ride from the station from the coach’s father, Milt; a very nice man. We spent the 15 minute car ride comparing collegiate programs and some of the hiccups that teams run into. We parted ways at the warm, 65° lush field.

Santa Cruz scored first and dominated the first half. Their set piece was much more disciplined than Fresno. Fresno struggled at the scrum and keeping their footing. There were calls against them for early push, unbinding and standing up in the scrum.

The second half showed a resilient Fresno and a less experienced Santa Cruz. Once Fresno realized that they could swing the ball out wide and beat the defense on the wing, they were able to score three tries.

Coming into the final 5 minutes, Fresno was down by 5 points, there was a last effort to score but they came up short. Santa Cruz kicked the ball away at time and won.

Date: 02/06/2016

Fresno State B 53 – UCSC B 5

Referee: Fenaroli, Steven

Fresno St came out strong after a disappointing A side match, winning handily 53-5. Both side were relatively inexperienced. This left the game full of scrums and restarts.

Date: 02/06/2016

Google 0 – Napa 41

Referee: Wood, Scott

For the second consecutive Saturday, I was assigned a match with a 10 a.m. kickoff. Normally, I’m not a morning person but I appreciate the relative calm and a light fog can be enjoyable. However, this week’s drive down to the Modesto Supersite (in Manteca) involved a less-than-civil person passing me on the left shoulder at about 100 mph followed by what can only be described as Stockton PD’s entire morning shift (see item 1: https://www.tipsoftonline.com/Push/uploads/572/020616DM.pdf).

Modesto’s Supersite was held at a multi-purpose park in Manteca. While the lines were appropriately straight, the five-meter lines were three meters from touch while the 15-meter lines were about nine meters from touch. Moderate initiative coupled with poor execution.

Napa arrived with enough players to field close to a full second side, whereas Google had 16 players. Overall, Google competed very well and maintained pressure on Napa spending a significant amount of time in Napa’s half of the field. However, Napa was able to exploit gaps in Google’s defense through the use of quick hands and tight passes. Despite their effort, Napa was held to two penalty goals in the first ten minutes before crossing the goal line. After one try, we were set to restart when a Google player called my attention to one of his teammates who may have had a knock to the head. Since I did not witness the event and he did not initially exhibit immediately recognizable signs of a concussion, I asked the player several questions (I’m not a medical professional or attorney, the following does not constitute medical or legal advice):

Ref: What day is it?

Player: Uh, Saturday.

R: Ok, Saturday’s a rugby day. What did you have for breakfast?

P: Um…a bagel…with ham…and, uh…cheese.

R: Was the bagel toasted?

P: Uh…no. Microwaved.

R: Who drove you here?

P: (pause) Me?

R: Do you feel dizzy?

P: Uh, yeah.

R: Have a nice day. Your participation is over for the day. Please seek medical evaluation and do not drive yourself home.

First half: Google 0, Napa 27

The second half was similar to the first with the primary difference being Napa finding gaps more exploitable scoring two tries in 17 minutes. As I awarded the second try, I noticed two Google players lying immobile on the ground. Before I could call for time off, several individuals were immediately tending to the players. One complained of a headache and sore mouth while the other had a headache and was bleeding from the back of his head. The best presumption we could make was they contacted each other mouth-to-head. Down to 12 players (and only 8 willing to continue), Google decided to concede the match.

Google 0, NAPA 41

Date: 02/06/2016

Granite Bay 42 – Riordan 21

Referee: Taueva, Favor

No report received

Date: 02/06/2016

Humboldt State 10 – UOP 37

Referee: Devlin, Joe

No report received

Date: 02/06/2016

Lamorinda 10 – Solo 24

Referee: Coppinger, John

This match followed the Cal/UBC match on beautiful Witter Field. Both sides came out looking to run wide, but we may have set a record for scrum restarts because of an incredible number of knock-ons in picture perfect conditions for rugby. In close match until the end, Solo won 24-10.

Date: 02/06/2016

Sacramento Amazons 57 – Pleasanton Cavaliers 19

Referee: Jones, Herb

The score did not dictate how well and hard fought this game was. The Amazons just were able to capitalize on mistakes and gaps in the Pleasanton defense. And with talking to the players on the visiting side after the match, there were a lot of graduates last year and this season is a rebuilding one.

Date: 02/06/2016

Santa Rosa 34 – SFGG 5

Referee: Hinkin, James

With the rain having held off for a week the conditions at For Pete’s Sake field were warm, sunny and muddy – the kind of field forwards dream of, backs less so. With regulation posts and clearly marked rugby lines it is always a pleasure to referee in Santa Rose. There are no football, soccer, field hockey, quiddich, ultimate, lacrosse or any other lines marring the perfection of the field and that is a thing of beauty. The home side was out in force when I arrived with SFGG players arriving in bunches, just less so. A high school match ably handled by Joe Leisek was underway and the future of rugby put on a grand display for the several hundred strong crowd. I was looking forward to a lively atmosphere once the big boys took the field, so it was slightly shocking to see the spectators empty out so fast once the high school match was done. Oh well, there were still a vocal and passionate array of Rosa stalwarts on hand to cheer the action.

The first half was all Rosa as both teams struggled with discipline giving away silly penalties, but the home side adapted quicker and used their forwards to dominate possession. They were unable to break through until midway through the half when SFGG lost a player to the bin for a dangerous tackle. The man advantage proved costly as Santa Rosa got on the board with their first try, converted. A solid wave of possession led to Rosa’s second try with the extra man and increased the lead to 14-0. Once parity was restored SFGG got back into the match but were unable to break the line and in fact surrendered a third converted try to go into the break 21-0.

The second half was a better performance by SFGG as their captain tried to rally the troops. Bringing their dangerous back line into play more allowed them to be more aggressive with the ball and some promising moves were snuffed out with poaches, knock ons or more silly penalties. Santa Rosa was able to get 2 more tries on the board (converting neither) before Golden Gate was able to respond with a hard earned try of their own, also unconverted. A penalty kick to Rosa finished off the scoring as SFGG defended strongly down a man for the last 7 minutes due to another yellow card infraction, but they could not breach the solid Rosa defensive wall.

Date: 02/06/2016

Santa Rosa B 15 – SFGG B 55

Referee: Hinkin, James

The B side saw a tired SFGG A side (with a few changes) go up against a true Santa Rosa B side and the game proved to be just that. A compromise between the captains set the time for each half at 22 minutes (huh?) so that is what we played. The game kicked off and it was immediately obvious what the game was going to be like. With both sides making some shocking kicking decisions this looked more like soccer at times. Santa Rosa kicked, it seemed, because they were out of ideas – SFGG seemed to kick because it was silly and fun. Be that as it may the tired A siders were far too much for the fresh B siders and dominated the first half 31-0.

Alex Trebek: The answer is “Time and space”.

Jeopardy Contestant: What are two of the three building blocks of the universe, along with mass, shown to be related by Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity?

Alex Trebek: I’m sorry, the question we are looking for is “What should not be given to the SFGG back line?” Considering the category was “Pelican Sports” you should have known that your initial answer was wrong.

The Brosas (copyright James Hinkin, 2016) gave a much better account of themselves in the second half scoring three tries of their own as they started exploiting the space left by tired legs in the SFGG side. They were able to put three unconverted tries on the board for a respectable 22 minute haul. Unfortunately they gave up 4 tries to the opposition. The excellent SFGG captain Pat Schock needs to learn when to “drop the mic”, however, a skill that will come to him in time as he grows into his role. You see, the B side kicking duties were a bit all over the place and as the lead grew more people wanted a shot. Pat stepped up in the second half to try a rather difficult conversion… and nailed it. (Now is when you metaphorically drop the mic, my friend.) Unfortunately he followed that up with a trivial kick from in front of the posts that, naturally, went wide. Rugby, like life, is a learning experience, after all.

Date: 02/06/2016

SFSU 20 – UNR 48

Referee: Pescetti, David

An abnormally hot winter afternoon in San Francisco, SFSU met UNR at the future home of the SF ProRugby team, Boxer field. This match was a wonderful match to be at, with both teams putting forth tremendous efforts.

UNR came out of the gate sprinting. within the first two minutes of the match they had spun their way to an opening converted try. SFSU turned around and themselves marched right back and responded within only a few short minutes. UNR then managed to string together two tries and a conversion. But before they could relax with their lead SFState answered right back with two tries of their own. At the half it was a marginal lead for UNR 19 to SFSU 15.

The second half was all UNR. While SFSU put up a great defense, their conditioning seemed to be their weak point. The game was a lot closer than score indicates because UNR scored 14 points in the last 2 minutes of the match. But it was clear before those closing seconds that Reno had the right touch.

Date: 02/06/2016

Silicon Valley 38 – Mendocino 14

Referee: Wilson, Giles

Played as one of the last pair of games at the D3 “super site”. Having all of the D3 teams in one location certainly seems to allow some socialization , which is nice.

Silicon Valley and Mendocino both have some experience, some athletes and also some new guys. The game started well with long periods of continuity. Both sides ran well at space, supported and off loaded well and also tackled well. Silicon Valley had a little more pace and were a little younger and faster.

The first half ended 24 – 7, four tries with two conversions to a single converted try. The second half was more of the same but with Mendo picking up a couple of dings to key players and both sides bringing on young replacements, the continuity wasn’t quite as good. Silicon Valley ran in two tries, both converted to a single converted try for Mendo.

Final score Silicon Valley 38 to Mendocino 14.

Date: 02/06/2016

South Valley 7 – Marin 12

Referee: Bertolone, Cary

A beautiful day at the Super Site in Manteca. Marin kicked off at 12:00 PM and South Valley/Marin played evenly for much of the game. Marin finally broke through for a try at the 33rd minute of the half with a nice interception for a 60 yard sprint, when he was caught from behind, on the 10 meter line, but was able to make a pass to his support who scored. On the 38th minute, Marin’s wing scored another one and with the conversion, were up 12-0 at the half. Marin missed two penalty kicks and South Valley missed one (goal posts were only 15 meters apart) in the first half.

Status quo in the second half until South Valley, while down a man, at the 27th minute, pushed one over and converted to make it 12-7. At that point, both teams picked up the intensity and we had a battle for the last 12 minutes, both teams ferociously contesting, both teams almost scored tries and Marin missed a few different penalty kicks that could have sealed the game. Down to the last minute, Marin saved the game for a win.

Date: 02/06/2016

Stanford B 17 – SJSU B 7

Referee: Makino, Ren

Unlike two weeks ago it was a sunny Californian day at Steuber Stadium. The two teams played 1 30-minute half (because Stanford didn’t have a full B-side) and the two teams fought hard during the 30 minutes. Stanford was the better side but San Jose State had some nice breaks. Was able to call my first penalty try (a Stanford player high tackled a San Jose State player three meters from the line right under the posts). Received some great coaching after the game, Thank You!

Date: 02/06/2016

UC Davis 29 – Chico State 12

Referee: Tucker, Chris

Fun game, although the penalty count was high. Some silly stuff, but the majority came from over-competing at the breakdown. UC Davis in particular were all over the map in the tackle, with multiple penalties for entry, tackle assist poaching before the tackler was away, and lying on their own ball when Chico were on their feet trying to poach. Regardless, they were the more effective team with the ball, and they made the gainline repeatedly. Chico had their opportunities, but butchered a couple of clear scoring chances, and at the end of the day the scoreline was a fair reflection of the action on the field.

Date: 02/06/2016

USF – Sonoma

Referee: McDougall, Grant

A good spirited and competitive match in the first half. SFU fielded a well-organized and mobile side. Sonoma State has some newer and enthusiastic players. SFU was the fitter and more experience on the day winning 55-19.

For the first twenty minutes both teams ran the ball with confidence but SFU soon found space out wide to exploit. Mis-matches out wide let to many break out tries. This was a pattern that would continue in the second half.

The field at SFU also came into play with kicks having to be taken down at one end as the neighbours are not enthused by on target kicks at goal and like to pilfer the game balls.

All in all a great game of rugby played at pace.

Cheers

Grant

Date: 02/07/2016

California Women B 12 – Stanford Women B 24

Referee: Hendrickson, Robert

Cal women’s B side faced off against Stanford women B side in a 12 on 12, 20 minute halves after the A side game.

Date: 02/07/2016

St. Mary’s College WR 13 – USF Women 25

Referee: Byrnes, Bryant

This was the curtain raiser for the Super Bowl later that afternoon-and probably the better game.

Playing on the old grass field near the campus entrance was a bit of remembrance of things past for rugby folk of a certain age. At one time a bog that swallowed entire teams during the rainy season, it later became one of the premier NorCal pitches.

On this clear windy day, it was a forwards game. The difference was that USF had three large fleet footed forwards rumbling north/south; the Lady Gaels had only two. At half, it was the Lady Dons (Hilltoppers?) 15 to 8. But credit to the home team-they scored just before full time.

This Week’s Photo

The team of three ready to referee their first World Cup. L-R Rob Hendrickson, John Lane and John Coppinger

Now that the American rugby east of the Rocky Mountains have finished their league seasons and qualified for national playoffs and the blessed world west of the Rockies have played the first couple of rounds of their season the brain trust at USA Rugby have decided to make an announcement:

“Ha ha! We are going to change the laws of rugby mid competition and you can’t do anything about it!”

EDITOR’S NOTE: There is some slight artistic license taken with the press release issued by USA Rugby. They didn’t actually say “Ha ha”.

We all know that after every World Cup cycle World Rugby (formerly the IRB) gets together and makes a few law changes. This is a natural part of the evolution of the game and is usually a good thing. If you, dear reader, ever watch a match from the 60s or 70s you would have trouble even recognizing the game as compared to modern rugby. Another side benefit is to give the front row something to complain about whenever the scrum cadence changes. Their small minds need to be occupied with these trivialities so that the actual rugby can be played by everyone else, but I digress.

For those who were paying attention it came as no surprise that there were some law changes made after this last world cup and, as has been the standard protocol for every other year when this occurs, the changes go into effect January 1 for the Southern Hemisphere because they are out of season and on July 1 for the Northern Hemisphere, allowing competitions that are currently in progress to complete before the changes go into effect.

Makes sense, yes? Apparently not enough sense for USA Rugby who decided to implement the changes last week. “Why would they do this?” I hear you ask. Simple: for 5 matches. And 20 players.

Yes. 5 matches. And 20 players.

Richard Every, the USA’s high performance referee manager said, in a direct quote that I am not making up, “The reason for USA implementing them is that the Americas Rugby Championships are, and we want to ensure consistency for all our players.” The logic here is that since the South Americans have already changed over and the ARC will be using the new laws, for the sake of the 5 matches the USA will be playing in the ARC the national competition will be compromised. This is increasingly silly considering about half of our team, depending on who gets released by their club, is currently playing in Europe under the old laws. So again, the USA’s national competition will be compromised for the sake of 5 matches and about 20 players. Glad to know what USA Rugby’s primary focus is.

In this trying (ha!) time let us not forget the wise words written on the outside of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy: “Don’t Panic.”

Las Vegas Needs Refs

After another 10 months of ignoring our calls and giving crappy and thoughtless birthday presents, LVI Tournament Director Jon Hinkin has decided to mend fences and suck up to the Hail Pelicus editorial staff and the Greatest Referee Society In The World, to wit, the NCRRS. If you are planning to go to Vegas for the USA 7s and want to referee at the LVI, details are below.

Referees – we need your help as a volunteer with the biggest tournament this spring – Las Vegas Invitational March 3, 4, 5-6th! We have 70 refs currently registered… and need 40 more refs!!!!!!

Referees will receive:
1. Free referee jersey
2. Tickets to all 3 days of the USA 7’s International tournament (when you stay at The Westgate Hotel) at LVI Discounted Rates.

We are now on our second critical mass weekend of the season and the society is in dire need of referees. All leagues are in play and we need referees to cover the games.

If you have not already, please go to assignr.com to confirm/announce your availability and matches, or if you haven’t received an assignr.com account, contact Pete Smith at me@petesweb.com to let him know you are available. To get an assignr account please contact our Scott Wood at rscottwood@gmail.com . He will get you all the information you need to sign up and announce your availability. More details on assignr are in the next section.

February Society Meeting

February 10 will be the next society training at the SFGG clubhouse. This is a biggie so coaches and referees are strongly encouraged to attend or to watch via the live webcast.

6:00 PM will be the final Beep test opportunity for referees desiring to be assigned national appointments. All referees are encouraged to participate.

7:00 PM marks the start of our meeting and we will be discussing the new law changes that have taken effect. As a side note, I (NCRFU President Paul Bretz) will be developing an online activity to review the law changes. Please check the online class feed regularly.

As well as discussion of the law changes the schedule will include the following.

Pete Smith will be making a presentation on the tackle

Paul Bretz and the Life West coach Adrian Ferris will be presenting on developing a positive relationship between referees and team coaches. We all need to recognize that there are too many instances of issues between referees and team coaches in which our interactions have negative tones and we also need to take ownership for those issues. Ferris and I have been planning a joint presentation for a few weeks and wanted to capitalize on the recent Rugby Summit. We are asking for both referees and team coaches to be at the meeting. Please plan on attending.

Ask A Pelican

Yes, it’s time for this week’s installment of “Ask A Pelican”, the widely loved Q and A session with Hail Pelicus. This week’s question comes from A Concerned Rugger of San Francisco, CA who asks:

“What are these new law changes I have been hearing about?”

Great question, Mr Rugger, as we will all need to brush up on these immediately. The main alterations are:

1) No more “turnover wheel” in scrums.

2) Added a clear “use it or lose it” in scrums

3) Losing scrum half must stay out of pocket

4) Formal sanction for feinting that you were fouled.

5) A player injured through foul play may be replaced by a player who was previously substituted.

Please remember that these will be discussed in detail at the February society meeting on February 10 – see previous item for details.

A lovely day in the city for Life and Baracus to meet. The pitch was short. Too short for Life to use the space that they needed to formulate a cohesive attack. They threatened many times but had many turnovers. The biggest difference in the game was Baracus kicked for points a lot. Making 4 Penalty kicks and a drop goal. Both teams scored 3 tries a piece.

Date: 01/30/2016

Cal Maritime 52 – UOP 10

Referee: Wood, Scott

Ref: Scott “Take that, knees” Wood

PA: Bryant “Dolcent Tones” Byrnes

Venue: Cal Maritime

Attendance (est): 2,400

It has been 91 days since the last time I did anything that could be considered significant cardiovascular activity. Even my wife said, upon hearing of my assignment, “Can you even run?” Having recently moved to Egypt where stubbornness and ignorance are omnipresent, I answered, “Yes, dear.” (nobody asked about quality or quantity)

Cal Maritime dominated nearly every phase of play while Pacific had trouble with support, scrums, and were too slow passing the ball in contact. One scrum was rotated beyond 90 degrees and, much to my displeasure, a reset was awarded with the original team putting in the ball. This Law change is an abomination that clearly was the work of people who have never played in a jersey numbered less than 10. Additionally, having front rows crouch ear-to-ear will lead to problems as there is little, if any, space for proper engagement. Alas, we triumphed over evil and were able to go about our way. Cal Maritime scored five tries before Pacific was able to get on the board at the waning moments of the first half.

CM 33, UOP 5

The second half opened with Cal Maritime moving quickly and decisively, spreading the ball around the pitch. Pacific competed better at the breakdowns and was able to move the ball to within five meters when Cal Maritime’s lock decided to use his fist to dislodge the ball from a maul. Nevermind entered the piece illegally and even looked at me prior to attempting to tenderize his opponent’s back. Off to the bin. This led to Pacific scoring its second try. Another 30 minutes of back-and-forth rugby went by before the final whistle.

CM 51, UOP 10

Kudos to both teams for great sportsmanship and giving me a good run.

Date: 01/30/2016

Cal Women 27 – Chico St Women 22

Referee: Coppinger, John

This was a great game in the sunshine on Witter Field. Both teams came to play fast rugby and the two teams kept trading scores with Chico taking a 17-15 lead at the half. Chico went up late to take a 22-20 lead, only to have Cal score the winning converted try with a Chico player in the bin for a cynical penalty in the red zone.

Date: 01/30/2016

Chico 29 – Vacaville 40

Referee: Franzoia, Tom

Under cloudy skies and soft uneven turf the Bulldogs and Mighty Oaks enjoyed a well played but sometimes sloppy game and encouraged by the boisterous crowd. The attire at the “O” were bathrobes and they came in many flavors.

Date: 01/30/2016

CSU Monterey Bay WR 12 – Univ San Francisco WR 26

Referee: Freitas, Larry

USF’s Lady Dons came down to CSU Monterey Bay on another overcast Saturday, to play the Lady Otters in what was a very competitive match. Again, perfect weather for rugby, meaning cool temps, threatening skies with the next storm lining up from the north, and very unlike last season’s weather. USF arrived a good hour plus late for the match, due to traffic issues; and the game was originally scheduled at 1pm, and then moved back to noon. So the game ended up starting at 1:35. The pitch was a bit torn up from the previous week’s play, but at least no puddles of water like last weekend. USF started off the match showing that their back line was more organized for attack than CSUMB’s. Seven minutes in, flyhalf Sydney Abel was able to score and covert her own try for a 7-0 lead. Nearly half way through the first half USF would score again, with their center crashing over after a nifty run through the defense. That try was again converted for a 14-0 score. Another try, this one unconverted, made the score 19-0 at half time.

I was very impressed by Abel’s play, especially in that she would find space down field and kick her team out of any CSUMB pressure, forcing CSUMB to play much of the game in their own half of the pitch. I would have to say that there isn’t much of that pressure-relieving kicking going on in matches I’ve officiated, men’s or women’s college games, in the recent past, and therefore full backs and wings don’t seem to react well with counter-attacking moves, and that was the case with CSUMB’s full back letting the ball bounce a few times when she should have been catching it and either kicking it back or linking up with wings for a counter attacking move.

As the second stanza started, CSUMB started putting more pressure on USF’s defense, which seemed to be tiring some. Momentum was starting to turn, and penalties were being given away by USF, now on the back foot, mostly for offsides at rucks, and one on a kick from deep in USF’s half by their flyhalf that ricocheted off a teammate standing too close by, only to land in the hands of one of their forwards up field another ten meters. A few minutes later, with CSUMB sensing that they could cross USF’s line, Sabrina Bacuangan, their scrum half, picked the ball up from the base of a scrum inside USF’s 22, darting diagonally toward the right hand side corner flag some 15 meters away. She was tackled just short, but arriving at the scene of the tackle I saw that she had reached out and grounded the ball half a foot over the goal line. The unconverted try made it now 19-5. Bacuangan wasn’t finished. About seven minutes from time she once again made a dash for the goal line from a CSUMB scrum feed in mid-field, between the ten and 22, reaching the goal line and scoring just inside the right post; it seemed the correct tactic with split backs and plenty of open space with the ball channeled away from the opposing scrum half side of the scrum to the number 8. She was channeling her Gareth Edwards. That try was converted and now the score read 19-12, but there was a scant seven minutes left, as I was adding injury time for quite a few stoppages earlier in the half. Now it was USF’s turn to score as time was running out, with one of their flankers crashing over with at least three CSUMB defenders trying to stop her. That try was converted again by Sydney Abel, who was picked as “Back of the Match” after the game by USF’s coaches. I blew the whistle for no-side immediately after the whistle to signal that the ball went over the cross bar.

Final thoughts: regarding the new laws, I had one call on the USF scrum half for going into the “pocket.” There was a blood injury as well, as USF’s prop went off the field for about five minutes, in the middle of the second half, and they had to play short, as a few of their players had already gone off with injuries. There was plenty of hard tackles by players on both sides, but none warranted a dangerous tackle call from me. Finally, some women on both teams are new to the game, and haven’t seen much action yet, but they seemed to listen well and tried their best not to infringe to keep the game going as much as possible. I didn’t have collapsed scrums, and there was no reason to go with uncontested scrums. Both teams have good coaching going for them. If these ladies continue playing, on each side, they have reason to have many wins in the future.

I also want to report a late score from last week at UCSC: Nevada Reno had brought some extra players and wanted a second game, as did UCSC. So with half of Nevada’s team made up of first team players who had just finished a match, a sixty minute affair took place, with Nevada beating Santa Cruz 30-14. I was originally scheduled to referee that match, then it was cancelled as Nevada said they would only bring enough players for one game, and then it was on again. The only problem, as I had planned on watching the first teams play anyway, was that I had to go all the way back to Aptos to get my kit!

Date: 01/30/2016

EPA Razorbacks 22 – Life West B 34

Referee: Lew, Tim

Unfortunately Utah got stuck on the I-80 which was closed for snow at the pass. So I headed to TI to check out Leah and the OC play Glendale. Fortunate for me, EPA wanted a run and Life West (+ some SFGG players) were ready to play. As expected, huge hits and collisions continued throughout the game. Life West had better fitness and youth which showed in the end. Life West is looking good…

Date: 01/30/2016

Fog 17 – Google 59

Referee: Hendrickson, Robert

No report received

Date: 01/30/2016

Fresno 17 – Santa Rosa 33

Referee: Hinkin, James

No report received

Date: 01/30/2016

Fresno B 12 – Santa Rosa B 15

Referee: Tuisavalalo, Rodney

The two teams decided on two 20-min halves which was more than enough action for the already bruised competitors. Most of the players for the developmental game (“B” game) had already played 80 minutes of intense rugby, and now had to take the field for a second time. The flyin’ Fijians that made up the Santa Rosa back line team took first blood as they offloaded several no-look, over the shoulder, between the legs, behind the back passes that made Fresno wondering whether to contest or just sit back and watch the show. In this instance, they watched as the ball was dotted near the posts. The missed conversion by their kicker was the first indication that they were truly only humans after all.

Not to be outdone, Fresno countered back with some fancy maneuvers of their own. Tough, hard running from the forward pack culminated with a 20 meter sprint by the winger for a try. Conversion was no good as well. Just before the half, the Santa Rosa forwards mauled and rucked their way near the posts for another unconverted try. [HT score: 10-5 Santa Rosa]

The second half started out with some sloppy play from both sides as the muddy conditions created a lot of turnover balls. Repeated knock-ons made for a tiring number of scrums that clearly wore on the forward packs. I used the repeated scrums to implement the new Law change as it pertains to the losing scrumhalf. (Question: I gave a penalty for the non-offending team after several warnings to the opposing scrumhalf, but should it have been a free-kick? The amendment does not say or maybe I missed it.) The visiting team pushed their way to another unconverted try with 5 minutes left to play. Fresno countered just before the end with one of their own. The try was converted this time bringing the final score to 15-12 in favor of the visitors.

(My thanks to James Hinkin for sticking around to give me some great feedback. Faafetai!)

Date: 01/30/2016

Mendocino 15 – South Valley 29

Referee: Leisek, Joe

Beautiful sunny day in the Redwood Empire. Two competitive teams played a physical, enjoyable match on the Steam Donkeys’ home field next to the county administration building. Defense dominated on both sides, as soft conditions made it difficult to spread the ball wide. But both teams did their best to run whenever possible. The final score reflects the fact that South Valley made fewer mistakes and made more of their opportunities. These teams are fairly evenly matched and should play some good games against each other in the future.

Date: 01/30/2016

Olympic Club 2 27 – Berkeley 0

Referee: Tetler, Jen

A ton of fun rugby was happening all day on Treasure Island. In this game, Olympic Club came out strong from the gates, earning getting 2 early tries after a yellow card for a cynical foul to Berkeley. That was all they would get for the half as Berkeley regrouped and had a few pointed kicks and penalties go their way. The second half stayed competitive. Unfortunately for one never-to-be-future-rugby-player, a penalty kick for touch made direct contact with the head of a small bike rider on the other side of the fence. The rest of the game had a couple of break through tries by O Club, with the final one making the only conversion.

Date: 01/30/2016

Reno 19 – Colusa 47

Referee: Bryant, Lee

Field was originally moved due to snow to a small town 30 minutes outside of Reno. Ironically, the alternative field had received a solid three inches of snow the night before; gotta love El Niño. Both teams were troopers and decided to play the match and work through the shoveled and food coloring dyed lines. Game started off a little rough with tempers flaring and big hits as the teams adjusted to the slower game the snow. When Reno was able to get a series of passes through the backline their size was hard to match, but connections were not always made knock on’s plagued both sides. Scrum were well contested but Colusa’s back kept finishing consistently with tries all game and had a sure kicker for points. Reno had both both yellow cards in the match, both for repeated team infringements and the second for issues in the red zone. Seemed by second the game settled there there were series of 15-20 ball being recycling and it looked like good solid rugby. Both teams also seemed to adjust to the new law changes without any issue.

Date: 01/30/2016

Sac State 24 – Stanford 29

Referee: Akroyd, Phil

A very nice game played in some much needed sunshine at Sac State. The field was in surprisingly great shape and both teams were up for some entertaining rugby.

Sac State started off with a suicidal tactic of running the ball from anywhere, including their own in-goal. This really hurt them throughout the game as they played in their own territory for much of the first half. Stanford took advantage and ran out an early lead by playing a more structured game with multiple phase play.

The Hornet’s open style of play did gain them some yardage at times and they hung in there for most of the game and were never out of it. It was close and competitive throughout and the home team even had a chance to win it on the last play of the game, but couldn’t break through Stanford’s back line. Overall, a very entertaining game and hopefully both team will progress technically throughout the season.

Date: 01/30/2016

Sac State B 24 – Stanford B 29

Referee: Boyer, Rich

Great match, great enthusiasm! Stanford looked to run away after tries by halfback/captain Lorenzo and converted back number six. But Sac St. lock found a knock on and sprinted 50 meters for a try near end of second half, resulting in huge momentum for Sac St. The last ten minutes featured strong running from the same lock, number 6 and the flyhalf, with another try and one gone a- begging.

Date: 01/30/2016

Sacramento Capitals 73 – Diablo 15

Referee: van Staden, JC

For the first time in about 10 years I got to be at the KOT on Saturday, and it was a blast. Thanks Pelican Refs…..

Getting to reffed a blowout, was not expected, but the game were played. I got to see some youngsters I used to coach while they where U/17, winning a national championship in Colorado, and I was a proud coach, looking at 2 young men that have walked a straight path, and today serving the country and still playing like there is no drinking time to waist. With some of the most textbook tackles, I was glad to admit I use to be their defense couch 😉

Wish someone can say that about my kid to 😉

Back to the game…. lol… Capitals probably way too strong for the second division, but I guess all have to start somewhere and build up again. Solid team, with a deep bench, with only a cpl of small weaknesses, which all could have been sorted out, if I brought the “BLUE” card, but with Mike Malone in the vicinity, I had to oped out using it, lol, I promised I’ll retire it 😉

Half time, 55 – 0

But with Diablo, never chucked it the towel, manage to pull 2 tries in, to avoid a white wash….

Date: 01/30/2016

Sacramento Lions 29 – San Jose 5

Referee: Tucker, Chris

The sun burst through the clouds in approval of two teams who decided to actually play a game in Sacramento this weekend. Both sides may have been short on numbers, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t all go have fun at the Robla slip’n’slide, right? I dashed over from saying hi to old friends at the KOT, and arrived as the Amazons and Berkeley were kicking off their second stanza, got set up, and we kicked off on time. Or as close to on time as one gets with the Lions 🙂

The first half was a cagey battle — Seahawks had the better of the set piece, winning more ball, Lions the better of the back play, turning it over more often to even it up. Both teams split the honours in the number of knock-ons. My total mileage for the day was only 3.7, which speaks to the frequency of stoppages. Both teams scored once, although I contrived to award 3 tries… The other one was as the Seahawks #8 was tackled as he went over the 5m line. The line was painted solid instead of broken, and his dive to me looked like a scoring attempt with the ball clearly grounded, so up went my arm. Having finished apologizing to all and sundry for this evident error, we reset with a scrum 5 to San Jose, in accordance with the rarely-used 20.4(d). The Seahawks won the put in, and scored. 5-5 at the half.

The second half started similarly, but as the visitors’ legs began to tire, so the Lions found more openings out wide, and pushed over a bunch of tries, ending up with another 4 for the half.

A tense and tightly contested match at Bellomy Field which yielded nine tries and six changes of lead. Wyoming full back and captain Koz, opened the scoring thirteen minutes in, before Santa Clara’s left wing crossed minutes later after quick Broncos hands from a 5m penalty awarded when Wyoming’s tackler didn’t release. Back to the other end of the field a few minutes later, and it was Santa Clara’s defensive discipline which let them down, and the visitors kicked the penalty to reclaim the lead 7-8 midway through the first half. Wyoming extended their lead to four points kicking another penalty a few minutes later. Santa Clara regained the upper hand with a well worked running line by their standoff from a 5m scrum, and piled on with two more scores, one a flowing move the length of the field from a restart. Racking up 17 points in eight minutes, Santa Clara went into the break leading 24-11. Wyoming came out strongly in the second half, scoring twice in the first eight minutes and converting both to retake the lead. Wyoming’s centres carried the ball unbelievably well, dragging and handing off tacklers, and were a real handful for Santa Clara. Another Wyoming score on 17 minutes extended their lead to 24-30 before the Broncos finally got going in the second half. However, their try wasn’t converted, so Wyoming still had a one point lead which they still had with three minutes left, when Santa Clara crossed to reclaim the lead 34-30. With moments remaining, Santa Clara won a penalty deep in Wyoming’s 22, and slotted the kick over to secure the win 37-30.

Date: 01/30/2016

Santa Clara Univ WR 10 – Humboldt State Univ WR 100

Referee: Bernstein, Bruce

Piece of cake match to ref. A lot of running followed by 18 stoppages for kicking after tries. Humboldt State is very impressive with a solid team highlighted by its huge/fast/strong outside center, 8 & their coach & #7, who should all be somebody’s allstars if not national champs. They went up with the opening kick off scoring 50 points in the 1st half & didn’t let up in the 2nd equally another 50. Two of Santa Clara’s players also had nice albeit individual tries with their flyhalf slicing & dicing in for a try & their prop taking a bunch of tacklers into the try zone & barely being able to touch down while on her back. Pleasure to ref both teams on a real nice artificial surface & having Scotty Carson walking touch for me.

Date: 01/30/2016

SFGG Women 6 – Life West Women 62

Referee: Wilson, Giles

Life started off fast scoring twice in five minutes before SFGG really got going. The rest of the first half was fairly even with SFGG scoring two penalties from their pressure while Life added another try for a 21-6 half time lead.

Life started off the second half as fast as the first, with their backs manipulating the SFGG defense at will. Life ran 7 tries in the 2nd half with 3 of them converted for a final tally of 10 tries (7 converted) to 2 penalty goals for SFGG.

Date: 01/30/2016

Sierra College 48 – USF 5

Referee: Byrnes, Bryant

A blue skies super site rugby day at Maritime. In spite of the score, this second of four matches had two quality D2 teams.

But on this day, it was all Sierra. Being bigger helped, but being bigger and fit explains the score. Lots of nifty stuff, including three, four, five forward crashes, and-and Bob’s your uncle as the Brits say- the ball all the way out the backline to the wing.

However, the Dons never lacked effort. Indeed, on the last play before full time, after a series of tackles, kicked balls, and god knows what else, three Dons chased the ball into goal, and upon Sierra mishandling it, touched it down. A bit of the Key Stone cops? Perhaps, but a nice ending. And it goes in the books.

Thanks to Scott Wood for constructive comments, my touch judge Nicole, and guest referee Ian from Calgary, who did the last TWO games. A hero.

Date: 01/30/2016

Silicon Valley 27 – Marin 8

Referee: Moore, Stephen

A competitive game with plenty of rugged attack and defense by both teams. Marin took the early lead with a penalty kick, followed by a try shortly afterwards. Marin dominated the first quarter of the match until Silicon Valley broke through their defense and scored a try after several close misses. More confident in their attack and settled Silicon Valley took the lead attacking and scoring all remaining points scored. It was a tough match played well by both sides with Marin near Silicon Valley’s goal line several times but held back by SV. Players, spectators and coaches really well behaved, cooperative and disciplined.

A spirited kick off by the vintage ‘green machine’ of Silicon Valley team taking on a younger and athletic looking Shasta. The experience and wisdom of the green machine led to early success as they pounded away using their years of experience to score two tries and win the half time score of 10 points to 5. In the second half Shasta got down to business taking the lead in attack out maneuvering some tiring legs of the green machine. A spirited match played to the best of the abilities by all to the enjoyment of players and spectators.

Date: 01/30/2016

SJSU 26 – UCSC 16

Referee: Lane, John

As I arrived at 12:00 both teams were just starting to warm up. I was quickly brought up to speed that UCSC had left their Jersey’s behind at their meeting point and there was a frantic effort on going to get someone to collect them and drive to the game. We agreed that this would delay kick-off by 15 to 30 minutes depending on traffic (in the end it was 45 minutes!).

This gave me the time to run through the new law amendments with no real pressure so the time was well spent!

The game itself was played in an open attacking style with every effort to play fast and open rugby but on occasions the skill levels deserted the players and turnovers were frequent. SJSU dominated field position in the opening minutes but turnovers gave field position and pressure to UCSC which resulted in a successful penalty for a 0-3 lead. Play ebbed and flowed for the next 10 minutes with some positive play by both sides coming undone with loose execution and some strong defense. A few minutes of sustained pressure by SJSU resulted in a try out wide with the missed conversion leaving the score at 5-3 on 20 mins.

The next 15 minutes of the 1st half was played end to end with neither team making a break through. UCSC dominated the final few minutes of the half and had a good opportunity to score but some white line fever denied their efforts.

SJSU obviously gave the more robust half time encouragement as they started strongly. Again turnovers gave away field position and UCSC converted another penalty to talk a 5-6 lead. Stung by this score SJSU gathered the restart and proceeded through a few phases and scored to the left of the posts for a converted try and a 12-6 lead. SJSU continued to dominate field position and extended their lead on 20 minutes with another converted try for 19-6.

With a lot of input from the sideline this latest try seemed spur UCSC into life. Their error count reduced dramatically and they started to string multiple phases together. This resulted in an unconverted try on 26 mins to close to 19-11. Encouraged by this they continued to push and closed to 19-16 with another unconverted try on 34 minutes.

The chase for the win was now on and UCSC continued to press. Unfortunately “white line fever” crept in again and at least 3 scoring opportunities were lost with rushed passes and some solo charges leading to defensive turnovers.

On 38 mins, one of these turnovers was turned into a breakout converted score for SJSU leaving the final score at 26-16.

B-Side Game

Following the delay on the main game it was agreed that the B game would be 30 min halves.

In a game with some obvious first year rugby players the open play of the first game was also to the fore. After a first half of much effort but limited structure UCSC held a 0-5 lead.

The second half progressively from a structure perspective and produced some tit for tat scoring. SJSU opened their scoring on 7 minutes with an excellent conversion giving a 7-5 lead. UCSC responded almost immediately with an unconverted try for 7-10.

On 14 mins, SJSU regained the lead with another superbly converted try – 14-10. UCSC scored again on 21 minutes and again failed to convert to lead 14-15.

The lead changed hands again on 27 mins with a SJSU try which was not converted. 19-15 and 3 minutes left.

UCSC pushed hard for these few minutes and with the last play created an overlap on the left but the ball carrier tried to crash through rather than pass and in the tackle lost the ball forward!

Game over with a second SJSU win on the day – 19-15.

Date: 01/30/2016

UC Davis Women 46 – Stanford Women 19

Referee: Fenaroli, Steven

The drive to Davis from Downtown Sacramento is gorgeous, the uneven pavement of I-80, the slow traffic over the bypass. I am appreciative of the short commute. This was the first week since the rule changes. I brought a piece of paper with the points, but I tried remembering them; I got about three out before I needed to consult the paper. UCD had large numbers so they would be plenty fresh. In the end, both teams only made one or two subs, incredible in its own until you know that multiple Stanford players went down with injuries mid games but toughed things out and stayed in. Davis kept attacking and controlling the match. There was a lack of discipline at the breakdown and when the ball was available to play, and obtaining it legally. The women were apt to listen to direction which makes my job easy. The weather held out, the pitch was firm minus 2 soft muddy spots.

A great Saturday for rugby with two quality teams.

Date: 01/31/2016

Stanford 17 – Wyoming 36

Referee: Hinkin, James

With the threat of rain no longer an issue there are few better places to be on a sunny Sunday morning than Stanford University’s Steuber Rugby Field. Sunny, but not warm were the conditions – at least to some of us. The 11:00am kickoff saw temps in the low 50s that the Stanford players and I thought were unreasonably cold yet for some reason the Wyoming players were acting like it was beach weather and breaking out the sunblock. Strange.

The teams definitely came to play and this was a crackerjack game, moving from one end of the field to the other. Stanford dominated the first 10 minutes of the half scoring 2 tries and converting one to jump out 12-0 but Wyoming seemed to wake up and start using their size advantage to good use as the pendulum of momentum swung over towards the visitors. Bruising runs and solid tackles were the order of the day until Wyoming broke through with a converted try to cut the lead to 12-7 and then swiftly followed that by scoring and converting another try to take a lead that they would never relinquish. A 3rd converted try at the end of the half put the tourists in front with a solid 21-12 lead.

The second half was more of the same but a bit sloppier as both benches started to be used. Each side had their chances with penalties, possession and territory (including trading “held up in goal” scrums) but it was Wyoming that had the finishing power. Three more tries equaled their first half output with the only difference being Wyoming’s fullback, captain and goal kicker Cos somehow losing his kicking boots during the break. Stanford was able to pull a well deserved try back after some high quality rugby but it was too little too late. The only blemish on the match was a late yellow card against the Wyoming tighthead for a cynical not 10 penalty 15 meters from the goal line when the Cardinal tried to go quickly from a previous penalty. As there was less than a minute left the result was not in doubt at that point but the score still was yet Stanford was unable to convert and the game ended with the Cowboy’s flyhalf kicking the ball into the Steuber crowd. A thoroughly enjoyable match and both sides should be complimented not only on their play but their attitudes. This was rugby at its finest.

This Week’s Photo

There are few better sights in Pelicanland than Stanford’s Steuber Rugby Stadium under sunny January skies.

What a relief it is to be writing about wet, muddy conditions and the need for (read “scramble to find”) rain gear. The Great California Draught is not over by a long shot but the winter of 2016 is doing its level best to put some water back in our reservoir and snow in our mountains. As I write this we here in Pelicanland are enjoying a respite from the rain but the forecast calls for a bit of rain come the weekend – nothing to worry your Wellies about but a good sign of the rain cycle continuing.

“I have assigned every available referee for this weekend and we will be woefully short with several league matches uncovered. KOT, injuries … all contributing. There are 4 league matches and at least a dozen B sides with no ref with a few more games unconfirmed by the ref. I assigned a few folks in the hopes they will accept, but otherwise, we are gonna have a lot of unhappy people this weekend that don’t get refs. “

-Pete Smith, Referee Assigner

We have reached our first critical mass weekend of the season and the society is in dire need of referees. The KOT up in Sacramento has drawn many of our regulars as well as a separate event that limits the availability of several senior referees has piled on to the usual unavailables and leaves the flock in a rather embarrassing position:

We don’t have enough referees to cover our games.

This isn’t the usual litany of B sides going uncovered but several A side matches are in need of an adjudicator. If you have a whistle now is the time to step up and represent the Northern California Rugby Referee Society, the greatest referee society in the world. Do it for the kiddies.

If you have not already, please go to assignr.com to confirm/announce your availability and matches, or if you haven’t received an assignr.com account, contact Pete Smith at me@petesweb.com to let him know you are available. To get an assignr account please contact our Scott Wood at rscottwood@gmail.com . He will get you all the information you need to sign up and announce your availability. More details on assignr are in the next section.

Assignr – Making Match Reporting And Assigning Easier Since 2014

The NCRFU will continue to use the assignr system for assignments and match reports. Again, please make sure that your availability is correctly listed on the site – if you aren’t listed as available you might not get assigned. Under “My Availability” you can make yourself available for a block of dates and then recuse yourself for specific dates if needed.

Please remember when filling out your match reports on assignr, ASSIGNR IS NOT WHERE YOU REPORT MISCONDUCT. I know the box is titled “Narrative/Misconduct” but this section of assignr is for the match summaries that are below in the main body of Hail Pelicus. If there are red cards or reportable yellow cards in your match then report them via the method detailed below in the section titled “Disciplinary Action Reporting – Process For Reporting Incidents“. This information will be in every Hail Pelicus and is also available on pelicanrefs.com.

Ask A Pelican

Yes, it’s time for this week’s installment of “Ask A Pelican”, the widely loved Q and A session with Hail Pelicus. This week’s question comes from, well, me. I guess I had better do this properly so… This week’s question comes from James Hinkin of Los Gatos, CA who asks:

“We all know that if a player catches a kick directly while one foot is in touch and one foot in the field of play the ball is considered in touch but NOT taken into touch by the player who caught the ball (Law 19 definitions). We also know that if a player catches a kick while one foot is in goal and one foot in the field of play the ball is considered in goal but NOT taken into the goal by the player who caught the ball (Law 22 definitions). What is the call if a player is near the corner flag and catches a kick with one foot in goal but the other foot in touch AHEAD of the goal line – aka in touch not touch-in-goal? Would that also be considered touch-in-goal because one foot is in goal?”

Yes, I actually asked this because I happened to be with Leah Berard of Woodruff, Wisconsin who was in Pelicanland for last weekend’s National Rugby Summit and is scheduled to referee a match in San Francisco this weekend, so she decided to stay and enjoy the delights of Northern California… and the lack of snow. With a referee who is not only on the Northern California ‘B’ panel (aka the USA Rugby ‘A’ Panel) but is an international referee employed by World Rugby available, I asked the question. Her ruling: Since the player’s foot was in touch and not touch-in-goal the ball is considered to be in touch and NOT to be touch-in-goal and the subsequent restart should be decided accordingly. (emphasis mine)

Well, that makes sense. We here at Hail Pelicus thank Mrs. Berard for clearing that up and wish her luck not only on her match this weekend but wish her a safe flight in a couple of weeks when she flies out to Great Britain to referee in the 6 Nations.

The game was moved late to Franklin Square due to weather. Franklin Square is meant to be a soccer field so preparing the field meant duct taping goal lines, 22 m, 10m and chalking out 5m from touch lines. This meant setting the line out required a little more work and it was my discretion for quick line outs.

Baracus scored first after a hard fought series, but missed the kick. The next 40 minutes saw a tough fight from both teams, but O club managing to score more than Baracus.

That did not stop Baracus and around 70′ was down by one try and one conversion. O club was able to hold them off and win 24-17.

Date: 01/23/2016

Baracus B 41 – SF State 15

Referee: Fenaroli, Steven

With a large turnout, Baracus was apt for a second game that afternoon. SF state pulled some O club players to round out their side. Baracus started the game off strong and never relented. Baracus was awarded a penalty on SF State 22m, they went for points and scored. 5 minutes later, in front of the post, they went for points and scored again. The conversion kicks in this game were much better than the first. Baracus were 100% for their conversions scoring 16 points from kicks.

Date: 01/23/2016

Cal Maritime 71 – CSUMB 0

Referee: Devlin, Joe

No report received.

Date: 01/23/2016

Chico 15 – Sacramento Capitals 25

Referee: Boyer, Rich

The drive to Chico was beautiful: abundant flocks of geese and ducks, and standing water everywhere! The Chico pitch, try as the administrators may, remains a challenge and is quite lumpy. But it drains well. It did not particularly impact the game quality Saturday. Sacramento Capitols came out on fire, with a quick lightning strike that started with great backs ball and ended with a Fischer chip and Rich at fullback chase dot down try. The second try was scored by captain Mike Dopson, taking the scrum feed at the base and running weak side. 12-0 Caps and it looked to be a blowout. Chico fought back, correcting previous handling errors, and were rewarded with a try by their wing after good forward play. The period seemed to fly by, with great sportsmanship illustrated by both teams in conjunction with very few penalties. Chico were on the back foot in the second half and the penalty count increased. Capitols capitalized (no pun intended) with two penalty kicks and another 3 went a begging. The Chico halfback made a nice break the resulted in a ruck near the try line, and the big Chico lock looked for all the world like he would bring three tacklers with him and score a try, but he was unselfish and passed to the wing, only for a knock on to ensue. The Caps changed tactics midway through the period and used a driving maul to put Joel Scott into the try zone. 25-8 Caps. Credit Chico, they never gave up and scored a converted try at the death. A gem of a game.

The seconds match saw an inexperienced Chico squad encounter a very strong Caps side. The game was played in good spirits, with lots of creative backline play from the Caps as well as good instructions provided to the newer Chico players. 54-10 Caps.

Date: 01/23/2016

Chico State 31 – SJSU 7

Referee: Richmond, Jeff

The Chico State match was played on a muddy pitch well churned up by a Chico – Sac Captials immediately before. SJSU was quite outmatched. Chico State was able to launch quick attacks by their back line before SJSU really had a chance to form a defense. On a fast field the difference in scores may have doubled. SJSU was less skilled at the breakdowns, regularly infringing for every offense possible – side entry, going to ground, not releasing. I gather it is a relatively inexperienced side. Some of the usual excess testosterone and overly zealous coach to deal with, otherwise everyone stayed safe. The losing captain made a point of complimenting me, especially in being consistent with the calls.

Had one new situation – a missed drop goal went past the dead ball line. I incorrectly offered the choice of scrum or drop out to the defender. I’ll know what to call next time someone tries a drop goal – maybe in 5 years?

EDITOR’S NOTE: The correct call is a 22m drop out. See Law 22.8 Ball kicked dead through in-goal: If a team kicks the ball through their opponents’ in-goal into touch-in-goal or on or over the dead ball line, except by an unsuccessful kick at goal or attempted dropped goal, the defending team has two choices: to have a drop-out, or to have a scrum at the place where the ball was kicked and they throw in.

Date: 01/23/2016

CSU Monterey Bay WR 5 – Fresno State Women 61

Referee: Freitas, Larry

Saturday arrived after a Friday of heavy rain on the Santa Cruz side of the Monterey Bay, with less of it having fallen on the Monterey Peninsula side. I hardly left the house Friday, so with Saturday’s partly cloudy skies and wind, it was time to drive down to CSUMB for a college women’s match. Fresno State had a good many players on the pitch warming up, but Monterey Bay was suiting up just 15 players, as two were on the touchlines with injury, and with school not having started just yet, a few other players were not on campus for the game. The weather, as far as I’m concerned, was perfect for a rugby match: cool mid-50’s, lots of cloud overhead, and a chilly breeze blowing in from the ocean only a mile and a half away to the west. The pitch was somewhat soggy, though. CSUMB had stopped a practice session late in the afternoon Friday when a heavy downpour hit.

Fresno State got off to a great start, scoring its first try seven minutes into the game, from a tighthead inside Monterey’s 22, which wasn’t converted. Four more converted tries at the Seaside end of the pitch would follow for a 26-0 lead at halftime. Fresno kept the ball alive, not always going to ground in tackles, and passing the ball off before a tackle could be made, so there really wasn’t that much phase play from them overall. So, even with a wet ball, the passing between forwards and backs produced scores, whether from a short or longer distance for the final touch down. UCSC had a few chances to score themselves. Their scrum half, Sabrina Bacuangan, made one break from a scrum after a dummy to the flyhalf, near the halfway line, and sped off for what I thought would be a try at the Marina end of the pitch, only to be chased down by the cover defense of the Bulldogs some ten meters short, and then give up a penalty for not releasing the ball before any Otters could arrive at the tackle. The Otters also lost one of their props to injury 30 minutes into the game after a high tackle offense by a Fresno player, and therefore a Fresno State sub came in for them at that position.

Fresno’s try-scoring spree would continue after the intermission. Six tries were scored, with three within the first twelve minutes of play. After that things settled down, and Monterey’s defense stiffened. Ten minutes would go by before the Bulldogs scored again, and two more later, the last eleven minutes from no side. Monterey Bay scored a try just minutes before the game ended when one of their forwards reached out and placed the ball over the goal line after being tackled near the touchline, following a period of pressure that produced some of Monterey’s best play of the day.

Regarding penalties, both teams backs were caught offside a few times at rucks, there were at least two calls per team for not releasing the ball in tackles, and a few each for playing the ball on the ground. Both teams did well in listening to my “instructions” at various times during the game.

Fresno State’s Stephanie Rovetti, fly half, had three tries, as did their flanker Nikki Wheeler, and scrum half Mariah Holtman had scored two. It was a wet and mud-splattered group of players that walked off the pitch with the final whistle. One other note on the game itself is that despite the soggy pitch and some mud patches (and I did move some away from the worst of those), not one scrum collapsed during the match, and there were quite a number of them.

There was an after match function at the Round Table in Marina afterwards, and I enjoyed trading stories about the recent RWC with Monterey’s coach Alena Porte, who also was in the UK and Ireland at that time, and also found out that Fresno’s coach played for the Fresno club back at a time when we surely would have played against each other when I was a Santa Cruz Rebel back some thirty years ago.

Date: 01/23/2016

EPA Razorbacks 59 – San Jose 9

Referee: Smith, Pete

No report received

Date: 01/23/2016

Life West Women 48 – All Blues 0

Referee: Hinkin, James

Life West hosted a rugby festival as the scheduling genius of Pelicus Fistulator had every Life West die playing at home. Women, men’s D1 and men’s D2 put 5 matches on the docket for a full day for everyone. (As an aside, this will not be a unique occasion. Every club with multiple sides in multiple competitions have had their schedules aligned. Fantastic.) With a solid week of rain behind us and promises of more ahead this was not only a test of the players but of the ground. I look forward to reading about the state of the grounds after the final match.

This match was technically a forfeit as the All Blues needed to field a couple of players who were ineligible due to participation in the WPL but Life was glad for a game and up to the challenge.

And up to the challenge they were indeed. The scoreline flattered the home side as the game was more even than the score suggested, the difference being the finishing. The All Blues are well coached and methodically worked the ball up the field but inevitably would lose possession due to either a penalty, a poach or, quite often, a slippery ball going to ground. Life West boasted an absolute firecracker at fullback named Cameo Motley who scored 5 tries â€“ many from distance. She had another gear that the other ladies just could not match and when she was put into space she showed the defense a muddy pair of heels as they tried to contain her. She is someone to watch.

Three tries in the first half were followed by 5 in the second half as the All Blues seemed to tire as the day went on. The tackles were fierce and the commitment was unwavering but the sight of Cameo in the try zone seemed to deflate the All Blues as the day went on and they had no answer.

Date: 01/23/2016

Life West 2 56 – Berkeley 10

Referee: Bernstein, Bruce

Life was in mid-season form. Berkeley played their usual tough defensive match but Life was too much with too much ball.

Real nice try & moves by Calvin their flyhalf/captain & good prop play. Halftime score was a close 24-10. Life has many interchangeable players on 4 teams they’re field & should be even tough as the season moves on. Fresno however won the party as being the only out of 10 teams to show up! Relatively nice weather except for a torrential downpour 10 minutes into match lasting about 10 minutes. And field was playable in one half while the other was sunken with mud.

Date: 01/23/2016

Life West 56 – Fresno 5

Referee: Sandhill, Peter

When I was a kid in Sydney, I loved the muddy games. It was so enjoyable to be at a grassy NorCal field in the wet. It was pouring with rain on the drive to the this game. At the field the rain had abated, however, underfoot it was mushy, muddy, very wet with intermittent grassy spots. The Fresno players were so happy to be playing in the mud and not in Fresno where apparently their home field was underwater.

Life West were D2 National Champs last year and seemed very fit and hungry. Fresno took it to them for 30 min. after scoring the first try. At about 25 min. it was 12-5 to Life and quite tense and competitive on the field. The first quarter tended toward more forward play, a lot of pick and drives . As Life began to utilize their faster outer backs, especially in the second half, the game opened up and the points began to tick over. No tries were easy give aways as Fresno stuck in there until the end. Both teams were also well coached and played clean hard (muddy) rugby.

Life West responded well to referee (my) concerns about repeated off side at the ruck early in the game and a tendency to be a bit “lippy.”

Thanks to Matt and John for AR duties well dispatched. And big gratitude to Dave Williamson for his time to PR, coach.

Date: 01/23/2016

Life West B 35 – Fresno B 5

Referee: Pohlman, John

Life West hosted three rugby teams at Sunset Fields in Hayward. Five games were played on the field, mine was the last. Fresno second side played Life West’s second’s in a shorten game. After four previous games played on the field with lots of rain throughout the morning, the field was pretty beat up.

Life continued their domination in a 35-5 win.

Date: 01/23/2016

Marin 7 – Reno 20

Referee: Coppinger, John

Wet bog of a field in Marin City. Most sunny with occasional showers and rainbows. Rugby the way it used to be in Northern California before the drought. I actually wore cleats for the first time in three plus years.

Reno came out from the get-go with some big hits, but struggled with most aspects of the laws such as offsides, the gate, and what is a legal tackle. After a quite a few penalties and two yellow cards to Reno, Marin scored a scored between the posts and added a conversion while Reno had two men in the bin. The Marin try and conversion were the only points of the first half.

At half time, Reno apparently held a seminar on the laws and were much more compliant with the laws in the second half. Reno also started to get the ball to their big ball carriers on the outside and Marin soon began to slip off tackles, which led to four unconverted and unanswered tries for Reno. Final score: Reno 20, Marin 7.

Date: 01/23/2016

Olympic Club 19 – Central Washington 15

Referee: MacDonald, Neil

Central Washington University, stir crazy from pre-season work indoors, drove for 13 hours to play Olympic Club’s PRP team. We were fortunate to be playing the match at Cal Maritime, where the field shed the pre-match downpours amazingly well, and gave the teams a great surface to play on.

CWU’s gym work had clearly paid off, and they were itching to tackle hard and to smash their opponents at the breakdown. The initial exchanges were fast and physical, with first blood to CWU, scoring from a lineout maul just 12 minutes in. CWU proved to be a handful for O Club in the early scrums, and were fiercely contesting the breakdown. An O Club player was beaten by the ruck at a tackle mid-way through the first half, and CWU kicked the resulting penalty to take an eight point lead. O Club, recovering from some initial surprise at CWU’s intensity, came back with a period of sustained pressure inside the CWU 22, and finally got on the scoreboard in the 28th minute, crossing to score from a 5m penalty after CWU collapsed a driving maul. With CWU down to 14 after an O Club’s player was taken out in the air jumping to gather a kick, a CWU infringement in the last movement of the half gave O Club the opportunity to tie it up with a kick for an 8-8 half time score.

Exploiting the huge boots of Keegan, Hawley and Anderson – now playing #15 for O Club following his stellar career at Cal – the home team took lots of territory and cleared their lines numerous times throughout the match. 11 minutes into the second half, this gave them the platform to show that they could maul from lineouts too, and they crossed to take their first lead of the match at 13-8. A hugely committed CWU team scored and converted with 13 minutes left, but two successful penalty kicks from O Club put them 19-15 up. CWU battered their way to O Club’s 5m line with time expired, only for the ball to be lost forward at the back of the final ruck.

A highly contested match from two talented sides, with the result contested to the very end. Blessed as we are with great teams and great rugby in Pelicanland, we should consider ourselves lucky to have had a team of CWU’s calibre visit northern California, and with this performance in their first match of the season, there’s a lot of promise of good things to come. O Club did well to weather the storm, adjusted, and were dynamic and dangerous whenever the back line was set free. Roll on this year’s PRP! All the best to both teams with their seasons.

Date: 01/23/2016

Sac State 7 – UC Davis 53

Referee: Tucker, Chris

A lopsided score, but not that much of a lopsided game. Sac State showed enterprise with the ball, but lacked a cutting edge going forward. Davis were organized, and ran the home sides somewhat wayward kicking back hard against them. For a supposed grudge match between two local sides, this was played positively, safely and in good humour throughout. A genuine pleasure on a beautiful Sacramento afternoon.

Also good to see a cast of Pelicans on the sideline. Messrs. Walsh, Crenshaw and Franzoia were all on good form and out enjoying the sunshine.

Date: 01/23/2016

Sac State B 5 – UC Davis B 100

Referee: Franzoia, Tom

A beautiful partly cloudy day after a morning downpour didn’t wake the sleep from the Sacramentans as they tried to be awaken by Davis Aggies who finished the day with a 100 to 5 mule kicking over the Hornets.

Date: 01/23/2016

Santa Rosa JC 43 – Menlo 14

Referee: Leisek, Joe

The match was a friendly between hosts Santa Rosa Junior College and Solano Community College (apparently Menlo and Solano have both dropped out of league competition). Played in front of a good crowd at For Pete’s Sake in Santa Rosa, even after days of heavy rains. A variety of skill and experience levels, with lots more passing and running than I expected. Not a lot of structure in the play of either side, but more so from the home side as the score indicates. More than enough chirping, however, particularly from Solano. Many thanks to John Tomasin for serving as AR and to Dominic Patrick for his help as touch judge.

Date: 01/23/2016

St. Mary’s College 24 – Lindenwood 13

Referee: Lane, John

Having supported Jordan Bruno (welcome back) in an entertaining B game I got my first game on the excellent St Mary’s pitch at 1pm last Saturday.

With the heavy rain over the last period the pitch was quite wet but playable with only one very small section showing surface water which was agreed with both teams to be acceptable to play.

Despite the wet surface and ball both sides served up an open and attack minded game of highly competitive rugby with excellent commitment and a fair bit of skill thrown in.

Pre game the body language was showing a more confident St Mary’s squad but after a early period of attack from the kickoff it was Lindenwood who held the upper hand in the opening quarter.

On 12 minutes after a few phases of attack the Lindonwood 10 (a fellow Irishman) converted a penalty for a breakdown infringement to lead 0-3. From the resultant restart St Mary’s looked to put immediate pressure but in doing so lost their defensive shape and Lindenwood capitalized on the gaps to return down field and despite St Mary’s attempting to slow the ball recycle Lindenwood played through their advantage and another quick recycle saw them crash through tackles to score a converted try. 0-10 on 14 minutes. And the home support were clearly restless and the volume rose appreciatively.

A few minutes of play between the 22’s with some turnovers mainly due to knockons in the conditions and some over anxious play by St Mary’s followed but steadily they started to dominate field position and having missed a penalty chance some quick recycling and straight running lead to their first try by the posts to bring the game to 7-10 on 25 minutes.

St Mary’s continued to dominate territory for the next 10 minutes but we’re well defended against and Lindenwood controlled the final 5 minutes to lead by 3 at halftime.

The half time chat had most impact on St Mary’s who restarted with a strong purpose. Moving the ball well across the backline in the conditions stretched Lindenwood and the pressure paid dividends with unconverted tries on 7 and 14 minutes turning the score to 17-10 in their favor.

Lindenwood looked to be running out of ideas at this stage of the game but some good kicking brought them in range and they drew another penalty from the stretched defense and closed the gap to 17-14 on 18 minutes.

They then dominated the next few minutes but St Mary’s who had received a team warning for repeated slowing down of attacking ball retained their discipline and kept their line intact during this crucial stage of the game.

Having survived the pressure St Mary’s the used some turnover ball to good effect with quick phase recycles and scored by the posts on 27 minutes for a 24-13 lead.

Neither side slowed down with the benches coming on with good energy but despite some good opportunities to both sides the defenses won out in the last 10 minutes with no further scoring leaving St Mary’s with the win in this highly entertaining and strongly contested friendly game.

Best of luck to both sides as they face into the competitive stage of the season.

Date: 01/23/2016

Stanford Women B 10 – Chico St Women B 24

Referee: Makino, Ren

(Game was moved to 1:00 PM) The rain was on and off during the match and when it rained it rained hard(Californian Standard) but the pitch was not too muddy. It was unexpectedly a smooth game with no high tackles and not many off-sides but a lot of not releasing (both tackler/ball) and playing on the ground. Great match from two disciplined teams with really respectful players. Thanks to Bryant for coaching.

Date: 01/23/2016

Vacaville 48 – Diablo 24

Referee: Bertolone, Cary

We kicked off at exactly 2:00 PM; not much rain, mostly cloudy with a 10-15 mile wind. It seemed like Diablo was out playing the home team, but mostly because of penalties on the Diablo forwards, Vacaville was able to play on their side of the field. They broke through with a try from their winger at 11 minutes. All 5 of Vacaville’s first half tries were scored by their backs (of course, they needed their forwards to get them the ball) and Diablo was guilty of not making their tackles. Strong running though and it was 31-5 at the half. The second half was much more even and Diablo actually outscored Vacaville in the second half, 19-17 for a final score of 48-24. Both teams had players receive yellow cards, one penalty try was awarded and I had to end the game four minutes early because of fiestiness (is that a word?).

With rain forecast for Saturday but sunshine on the menu for Sunday the UC Santa Cruz rugby club wisely decided to push their scheduled match out one day and host the Wolf Pack from the University of Nevada, Reno on the drier Sunday. There are few sights in Pelicanland finer than the UCSC rugby pitch on a clear, sunny day. The view from the pitch of the Monterey Bay and surrounding vistas is a gentle reminder of the reasons we live here in this great region. The day, as promised, was clear and dry with a lush, firm pitch perfectly marked with proper, regulation posts and boasting an electronic scoreboard – a joy to referee (and play, as I recall) on. The collegians were enthusiastically warming up when I arrived and I was quickly able to dispense with the necessary protocols and leave them to their own devices for the final 30 minutes before match time. The partisan crowd swelled and started to be heard and was helped along by the addition of UCSC cheerleaders. After seeing the Santa Clara trot out the band I didn’t think anyone could do a better job of creating a festive atmosphere. This is now a toss up. I love college rugby.

The first half started with plenty of energy from both sides as they tested each other as well as the referee. Once standards were set and the players realized that I was going to hold them to said standards the game moved along quite nicely. UNR was able to put a couple of tries on the board against a solitary penalty goal for the hosts as the Banana Slugs just couldn’t convert pressure into points effectively.

In spite of UCSC enjoying a man advantage for 8 Â½ minutes form a yellow card just before half, the second half was more of the same as UNR was able to punch through the UCSC defense for tries while the Slugs could only muster a penalty. Things got worse for the home side when 2 yellow cards in quick succession (repeated infringements, time wasting) saw them playing 13 on 15 but, as it does at times, this seemed to inspire the team and UCSC started finding space to run in and sliced right through the center of the UNR defense to score a well earned try. Once parity was restored they regressed again and a capable and well drilled UNR side started scoring tries again, finishing with 4 for the half. With one conversion from six they really should have had more points but a guess the air was too thick for their kicker down here at the coast

This Week’s Photo

The future of Pelican Referees at Stanford with a wise mentor. L-R Ren Makino and Bryant Byrnes.